The Protector
by deepwater1978
Summary: The person I want to embrace in my heart. The person I can't let go. I will take away all your sad tears. The one person in the world who makes me smile is you. So don't cry anymore, I will protect you.
1. Chapter 1

"Elena, will you cover my shift tonight?"

Elena Gilbert glanced up from the small workstation in her bedroom where she made the leather goods she sold online and frowned at her older stepsister. "It is my one night off this week, Katherine. I'm trying to catch up on orders before the Christmas rush hits."

"I know it is your night off." Wearing a slim-fitting sleeveless halter dress, Katherine Pierce leaned against the door frame and blew on her freshly painted nails. Her dark brown curly hair was piled atop her head in fat hot rollers. "And I hate to ask…"

"But?"

"But Mason called and there is a last minute thing he can't miss tonight. He needs me with him." She did that batting her eyes thing that drove Elena crazy. "Please?"

Elena didn't want to ask what event couldn't be missed. Knowing Katherine's drug dealer boyfriend, he had probably received an invite to some athlete or hip-hop wannabe's mansion as a supplier of their recreational fun. "Katherine, I hate it when you go to these parties. You know I worry about you all night."

"We aren't going to a party. It is a concert at the Arena. And Elena?" Katherine rolled her eyes at her sister and huffed. "Seriously, you are going to give yourself an ulcer. You don't need to sit up all night waiting for me. I'm a big girl. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Elena put down the metal punch and the leather strip she had been working. "Katherine, you just got popped for being a dog fight! It has been less than two weeks since I bailed you out of jail. Mason is on the hook for a felony!"

"They can't prove anything against him. We were just there to watch the fights. That's it."

"You can pull that bullshit with your lawyer, Katherine, but I know better." Shaking her head, Elena expelled a frustrated breath. "If you get pulled over or picked up with Mason and he is carrying again, you could go to prison. Okay? Like for real prison and not the county lockup."

"That won't happen." Katherine said it so quickly and easily, brushing off Elena's concerns without a second thought. "He never carries weight on him. That s what the slingers are for obviously." She preened proudly. "He is very careful with me."

"But are you being careful?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Katherine," Elena said her sister's name in her no-bullshit tone. "I found your stash in your purse."

Katherine's stance turned aggressive. "Why were you digging around in my purse?"

"I wasn't! Your purse fell out of our locker at work and I was picking up everything that spilled on the floor. I found a rolled up twenty and that dinged up credit card, Katherine." Elena tightened and her stomach pitched with anxiety. "Are you snorting coke or molly?"

"Both. Sometimes." Katherine swallowed nervously but held Elena's gaze almost daringly. "Look, it is just a little bump here and there, Elena. I like to roll when we party. It is not a big deal. I know what I'm doing."

Elena had to give Katherine credit for not lying to her but her sister's nonchalance drove her crazy. "It is a big deal, Katherine. That is how it starts. A little llelo at a party, a bump on a long night at work and then the next thing you know you are a total junkie selling her ass on some dirty street corner for a fix."

"Oh my God!" Katherine snorted as if Elena was the most ridiculous person in the world. "Do you always have to be so dramatic?"

"I'm not being dramatic!"

"You are such a drama queen, and you are so out of touch with reality. So what if I like to cut loose on the weekends? I know what I'm doing, Elena. I know how to control it."

Irritated by the easy way Katherine justified her use of drugs, Elena insisted, "You promised me that you wouldn't use Mason's product. You promised," she repeated, her eyes burning as her fear for her sister's life hit her hard.

Katherine's jaw hardened and her eyes went cold. "You are not a little girl anymore, Elena, and I'm allowed to have a life. I'm allowed to party with my boyfriend and have a good time. We aren't hurting anyone."

"You are not hurting anyone?" Elena repeated incredulously. "Do you even watch the news, Katherine? Two months ago, there were cartel pushers dead in the streets, okay? Do you think that you are safe from that? If Mason screws up a deal, you could be collateral damage."

Katherine scoffed loudly. "You watch too much TV, Elena. That is not the way it works. Mason is protected. We are safe."

"Even after the dog fighting?"

Katherine glared at her. "You just have to keep bringing that up, don't you? You just have to rub it in my face that Mason made a mistake."

"A mistake?" Elena scoffed. "Katherine, he got busted and now the DA and the cops are digging around in his boss's business. Kai thinks he is a kingpin. He thinks he is some hotshot mob boss—and one of his soldiers just embarrassed him in front of the whole city."

"Shut up, Elena. Just shut your mouth," Katherine snarled. "Enough!"

Elena didn't know what else she could say. Her sister wasn't going to listen to her. She believed that Mason's connections to the cartel's top man in Mystic Falls would protect her. Elena wanted to believe it because she loved her sister and wanted her safe but she wasn't naïve. She knew the score—and she suspected Katherine did too.

Exhaling slowly, Elena counted back from four. "Just promise me that you aren't carrying anything in your purse. If you get popped with drugs in your possession, you are screwed. They will hit you with every charge they can to make your arrest painful, Katherine. They will hurt you so you will turn on Mason—"

"I would never turn on Mason. I love him. He is the love of my life, and I will go do my time before I betray him."

"Lord," Elena grumbled and sat back in a huff. She couldn't stand it when her sister called Mason the love of her life. "Will you listen to yourself, Katherine?"

"You know what, Elena? I didn't come in here for a lecture from my baby sister that I raised through junior high and high school. I came in here to ask you to work my damn cleaning shift. That's it."

Elena scowled. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you always have to throw it in my face that you had to raise me after mum bailed?"

"I don't!"

"Yes, you do." Elena hated fighting with Katherine, but she was getting tired of hearing how much her sister had sacrificed to keep me out of foster homes. "I love you, Elena, and I will never forget what you did for me, but I would really, really appreciate it if you would stop using it as a stick to beat me with whenever you are pissed or frustrated with me."

Katherine swallowed and glanced away from her. "I don't mean to do it, Elena. Sometimes it just comes out before I can stop it. I don't regret any of the choices I have made." For a moment, she met Elena's gaze, and Elena could see the sincerity reflected in her eyes. "You fought like hell to get into college. You started this business on no debt and you have done it your way. I'm proud of you, Elena. Even when I'm a jerk," she added with a lopsided smile.

Elena's frustration with her sister faded. She reached out and touched her sister's hand. "You are not a jerk."

"Softie," Katherine murmured and poked her arm. "Does this mean you are going to work for me?"

Elena rolled her eyes and poked right back at Katherine's. "Yes, I will work for you."

"Thank you." Katherine squeezed Elena's fingers as if to let her know that all was forgiven and bent down to noisily peck her cheek. "Bonnie is working tonight. At least you get to work with your best friend, right?"

Katherine had a point. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will. I'm going to be late so don't wait up for me."

"Okay."

Katherine took one step out the door before turning back towards Elena. "Can you give me a few hundred bucks?" She pressed her hands together. "Please?"

"You just got paid on Monday!"

"And I have got bills!"

"So do I, Katherine."

Katherine rolled her eyes at Elena again. "Oh please! What bills do you have?"

"Rent, utilities, groceries, cell phone, car insurance, health insurance," Elena said and ticked them off on her fingers. She didn't add that she had had to cover her sister's half of the household bills for the last four months. Katherine was going to snap at her, she was sure, but she still said, "The diner is hiring for the morning shift. The tips are good there."

"Not happening," Katherine replied and shot Elena a withering look. "I'm done cleaning offices and waiting tables."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm put in my notice yesterday."

That was the first Elena had heard of this so she sagged with shock. "When did you get a different job?"

"I didn't."

Elena bit her lip to stop herself from shouting at her sister. "Katherine, don't you think you should have had a better job lined up before you quit?"

"Elena," Katherine said with an exasperated exhale. "I have got this figured out, okay? Now are you going to loan me the money or not? I will pay you back next week."

Experience had taught Elena that Katherine wasn't going to listen to anything she had to say. She rose out of her chair, crossed her room to her purse and retrieved her wallet. She tugged the three crisply folded hundred dollar bills she kept tucked into a card slot and handed it to Katherine. "Here."

"Thank you." Katherine took the money but held onto Elena's hand a moment longer than she had expected. "I love you, Elena."

Bewildered by Katherine's unexpected show of emotion, Elena smiled at her. "I love you, too, Katherine."

Katherine stepped back and hovered in the doorway. "It is going to be okay, Elena. Things are going to change for us in a big way. A really big and wonderful way."

Before Elena could ask her sister what that meant, Katherine flitted away and disappeared. She decided not to chase after her sister for more information. Knowing her history, whatever scheme for fast cash she had planned would fizzle and burn. Elena just hoped that Katherine wouldn't drag me into this one.

Elena cleaned up her workstation and tried not to think about how far behind she was going to be on getting this purse and wallet order finished. Although she wanted nothing more than to focus on growing her handbag and wallet business from its online presence to a real brick-and-mortar store, she had to focus on paying the bills and saving up for a proper expansion first. She probably could have gotten a small business loan or tried to shoestring her plans on credit cards but the idea of debt had always made her nervous.

While Elena was pulling on a clean uniform for the janitorial company where they worked, she heard the front door open and close. The loud thumping bass of rock music from their short driveway rattled the windows as Mason's new and very shiny SUV idled in front of their home. Elena tried not to think about all the danger Katherine was in every time she went somewhere with Mason but Elena couldn't just flip off that switch from caring to not caring. Katherine was her big sister and Elena loved her and desperately wanted her to make better choices.

But Elena also had to acknowledge that what she considered a simple, black and white decision wasn't so simple for Katherine. Katherine had been in love with Mason Lockwood since they were both young teenagers. Elena could still remember the giggly fourteen-year-old version of her sister confessing to her that she loved Mason after sneaking back into their house from a party.

Back then, Mason had been flirting with the idea of jumping into the street gang. It wasn't long before he made the commitment and started rising through the ranks of dealers who helped push the cartel's products onto Mystic Falls' streets. Katherine had walked away from Mason for a short time after their mom bailed on them but that separation hadn't lasted long. Four months later, they were back together.

Convincing Katherine to give up on the man she had loved for twelve years? It wasn't going to happen. For better or worse, she had committed herself to Mason and the dangerous life he lived. Elena loved her sister and didn't want to lose her so she had been forced to accept Mason wasn't going anywhere. She didn't like it, and she worried that he was going to get Katherine in so much trouble, but her sister was an adult who could make her own choices.

Dressed in her pink scrub-style uniform and comfortable but ugly white shoes, Elena grabbed a light jacket and her purse before locking up and leaving the house. She had some time before she needed to leave so she decided to check the mailbox. She found only a handful of bills and the weekly batch of coupons and ads. She quickly sorted out the coupons she would use from the ones she wouldn't and threw the rest into the recycle bin located in front of the house.

While ripping into the electricity bill, Elena grimaced at the amount due and wondered if Katherine would be able to help with her half this month. If she had to cover the entire amount by herself, it was going to eat into her Christmas savings. It was hard not to be irritated with her sister about the bill when Katherine was the one who left lights on and ran the ceiling fan in her bedroom when they weren't home and kept the television in her room blaring all night long.

Elena heard a vehicle pull up behind her while she was putting the bill back inside her purse but didn't think much of it. This was a busy street, especially with Mrs Donovan and her big family a few houses down. Her children had friends over for dinner every single day. How she could afford to feed a dozen hungry mouths every night Elena would never understand but she did it and always with smile on her face. There had been many, many times over the years when Elena's hungry belly had been filled by her kindness.

"Katherine Pierce?"

Elena whirled around at the unknown male voice that called her sister's name. Three men she had never seen before were standing in front of a double cab black truck. She didn't like the look of them—or the tattoos she could see from this distance. Elena gulped nervously at the sight of all that ugly white supremacist ink. There weren't many things that scared her but facing off with these three monsters had her knees knocking together.

The tallest of the three stepped forward. He had meaty arms and massive hands that Elena was sure had done a lot of dirty, mean things. "Are you Katherine Pierce?"

Elena managed not to jump when he barked at her. "No."

"So you are the little sister then, huh? Elena, right?"

Elena nodded silently. What the hell were these men doing here? Why were they looking for her sister? _Katherine, what have you done now?_ Elena thought.

Before she could muster the courage to ask what these guys wanted with her sister, the roar of motorcycles barrelling down the street drew her attention. Normally, Elena tried to steer clear of the motorcycle gang that their landlord, Spider, ran with but today? Today she wanted to drop to her knees and thank the heavens for the small crew of rough, leather-clad men riding to her rescue.

Spider killed his bike first, popped the kickstand and slowly slung his leg over the seat. He had recently cut his hair and somehow it made him look even scarier. The neighbourhood had become so quiet as people watched the faceoff in Elena's front yard. She could hear the leather of his vest creaking as he moved. His heavy boots crunched grass as he took deliberate steps between me and those terrifying men. "You boys lost?"

"We have business here, Spider."

"If you have business on my property and in my territory, your boss needs to lift the white sheet off his head, pick up a phone and ask me for permission."

"I will make sure to pass that message on," the man said. "But since we are already here, Marko wants to talk to her. I'm just here to pick her up for a little chat."

A little chat? A cold spear of terror lanced Elena's chest. If she got into that vehicle with those men, she wasn't going to come back whole or alive.

Spider glanced at Elena. "Elena, do you know these men?"

Feeling braver now, She shook her head. "No, sir."

"Do you want to go with them to meet with their boss?"

"No."

"Do you want these men to leave?"

"Yes, sir. Very much," Elena added forcefully.

He gestured to the truck. "You heard the lady. Get in your truck and get the hell off my property. You tell your boss that he needs to respect the boundaries—or else my boys and I are going to start making some visits of our own on your territory." Spider pointed to the truck again. "Go."

The three men glanced at Spider's backup, smartly ran the odds and retreated to their vehicle. The tall one shot Elena a warning smile before sliding behind the wheel. "We will be seeing you around, sugar."

His threat struck her cold. Elena gripped the handle of her purse and watched the truck disappear down the street. Two of Spider's men, the ones who hadn't dismounted from their bikes, followed the truck. She was relieved to lose sight of the tail lights but what would happen once she left her driveway? There was no way she could ask Spider or his men to tail her around Mystic Falls.

As soon as the truck disappeared from view, Spider turned towards Elena. Hands on hips, her stared at her and shook his head. He had always been something of a father figure to her. Elena had gone to school with his daughter Marley so it had been a natural role for him to assume after my own dad had been killed in a car accident. When the house she had shared with Katherine had been robbed, he had packed them up and moved them into this house so they would be safe.

"Well, honey, it looks like you have got some explaining to do." Spider waved his tattooed hand in the direction the truck of white supremacists had taken. Elena's gaze lingered on the heavy silver rings adorning his fingers. The skulls and letters were a language she didn't speak. "How do you know those men?"

"I don't."

"You are sure?" He narrowed his eyes in a way that warned Elena not to hide anything from him.

"Positive."

"What about your sister?" When she waited too long to answer, Spider exhaled roughly. "Were they here looking for Katherine?"

Reluctantly, Elena nodded. "I don't know why."

"Considering the company she keeps, I can think of ten different reasons they might show up here and none of them are good." He glanced towards the street and then back at Elena. "Those men won't bother you again, not here at least, but you need to be careful, Elena. You tell your sister to clean up whatever mess she has made and to do it fast. I'm not about to get tangled up in some nonsense with Marko's boys."

Marko? The name was familiar but Elena couldn't think why. Whoever Marko was, it was clear that he was powerful and dangerous, maybe even more powerful and dangerous than Spider and his club. That didn't bode well for her or Katherine.

Spider stepped closer and dropped his voice so only Elena could hear him. "I'm about to give you some fatherly advice, Elena. I would highly suggest you listen close and do what I tell you."

Elena swallowed nervously. "All right."

"Get out of here."

The words weren't spoken meanly or aggressively but she still shrank back with shock. "What?"

"Pack up your things and get out of here, Elena. It is time for you to cut ties with your sister and start your own life. Away from here," he added forcefully. "You are a smart girl. You have got drive and ambition. You need to get out of here and make something of yourself. Cut the dead weight, sugar." He made a snipping gesture with his fingers. "Go be somebody."

It was probably good advice, but how was she supposed to just walk away from her sister? From the only person who had always been there for her? From the woman who had given up her dreams of cosmetology school and her own salon to raise her little stepsister after mum left?

"You stay safe, Elena." Spider backed away slowly. "Be smart, honey."

His advice given, he returned to his bike and left the street as quickly as he had appeared. Elena hurried to her car and fished her cell phone out of her purse as she unlocked the door on her black sedan. The car was nearly fourteen years old but she had paid cash for it in high school and planned to drive it into the ground.

As Elena waited for her sister to answer, she slid behind the wheel and tried not to freak out totally. "Come on, Katherine. Pick up."

But Katherine didn't.

Her call went to voicemail and she drummed her fingers on her thigh as she waited for the greeting to end. "Katherine, call me. Like right now. It is important. Some skinhead creeps were looking for you. I think you should get out of town with Mason." Elena rubbed her forehead and hoped the swirling pit in her stomach would stop spinning. "I don't know what you have done, and I don't really care. Just call me, okay? I'm really worried about you."

She dropped her phone in the cup holder and tossed her purse onto the passenger seat. She cranked the engine. It turned over with a little whine. How many times would this old beast light up for her? If she made it through the end of the year, it would be a miracle.

Seatbelt secured, Elena backed out of the driveway and headed out of their neighbourhood. She didn't miss the nosy neighbours watching her car creep along the road or the way they pointed and shook their heads. There was always some sort of trouble in the area but she and Katherine had never been the source of it. She could only imagine what wild stories would be circulating the neighbourhood by sunrise.

As Elena headed for the town centre, she kept checking her rear-view mirror and expected to see that truck following her but it never appeared. Where were they? She didn't believe for one second that they weren't keeping an eye on her. Those men had come to her house to rattle her—and they had succeeded. Elena suspected they expected her to head straight for Katherine but the joke was on them. She was going straight to work, just as planned.

What had Katherine done to gain their attention? Her thought rolled back to Katherine's parting words to her. Yeah, things were changing all right but not for the better. She thought of all the little scams her sister used to run with Mason when she was still in high school. Stolen credit cards, fake lotteries, fake collection calls…

"Jesus, Katherine," Elena murmured as panic rolled through her again. "What have you done now?"

When Elena arrived in the small parking lot outside the commercial cleaning company where she had worked since graduating high school, she called her sister one more time and sent her a series of texts in all caps.

CALL ME. NOW. URGENT!

Katherine probably had her cell phone on silent or shoved down in the bottom of her handbag. Elena could practically hear her sister's response once she did see the missed calls. Katherine would probably laugh and tell her she was overreacting. She would insist that Mason would fix it.

"You had better fix this, Mason," Elena muttered while gathering up her things and leaving her car. By now, the sun had fully set and the early November chill had her shivering even with her jacket. She scurried inside the small, unremarkable building that served as the headquarters for CleanRite and quickly shut the heavy door behind her.

Even before Elena reached the main room that served as a meeting and locker room, she could hear the brassy wail and growling ba-da-ba-dum of banda music. When she walked into the room, she spotted a dozen or so of her fellow co-workers grabbing their assignment sheets from the night manager and co-owner Tanner.

Pushing aside her concern for Katherine, Elena smiled and waved at the friendly faces that greeted her. She was just about to swipe her ID to clock in when Tanner stopped her with a gentle tap on her shoulder and a confused expression. "Elena?"

"Hey, Tanner."

"Hey," he replied and started flipping through the sheets of paper on his clipboard. "You are not on the schedule tonight, Elena."

"I'm covering for Katherine." Elena held her ID ready to swipe but didn't finish the motion. Something in his voice made her nervous.

His eyebrows arched toward his forehead. "Katherine? She was fired yesterday. She doesn't work here anymore."

Now Elena was the one frowning with confusion. "She told me that she gave notice that she was going to quit."

Tanner's expression turned stony. "I'm sure she tells you all sorts of things, Elena. That doesn't mean that they are true." He shook his head. "After I split you two up and put you on different crews, there were too many complaints from our clients—and not just about her lax cleaning standards."

"What do you mean?"

He shot her an exasperated look. "What do you think I mean?"

There were all sorts of things Elena was thinking but she didn't want to believe any of them, especially not about her sister. Worried about her own position with the company that she had faithfully served for years, she asked, "Do I need to start looking for a new job, Tanner?"

Tanner seemed surprised by the question. "You are one of my best employees. If I didn't know about your plans to start your own business, I would push you into managerial training. No," he said emphatically. "Your job here is yours until you don't want it anymore."

Relief rushed through Elena. "Thank you, Tanner."

He waved away her gratitude and tapped his fingers on his clipboard. "Since you are here, would you like a few hours of overtime? I'm having hell filling a last minute cleaning call because of that concert tonight. No one is answering their phones."

 _You have no idea,_ Elena thought crossly while thinking of the way Katherine was dodging her calls.

"Sure, I will take it." Happy for some extra cash on her pay check, Elena swiped her ID and clocked in for work. "Where am I going?"

"Salvatore Luxury Autos."

The mere mention of the high-end dealership that sold outrageously expensive cars to Mystic Falls' movers and shakers sent a zip of delight down Elena's spine. An excited, tingling feeling settled in her lower belly. She couldn't help herself. She wanted to see him again.

Him.

Damon Salvatore.

x x x

Last Christmas, the dangerously sexy and overwhelmingly alpha businessman had rescued Elena from a run-in with Mystic Falls' most notorious drug dealer, Kai Parker. Damon had faced off with Mason, his crew and Katherine to save Elena from what had promised to be a forced double-date from hell. He had offered Elena his protection that night and a promise of safe harbor.

 _If you ever need anything, Elena, you come to me first. I will take care of you._

His sexy, deep voice echoed in her ears, even all these months later. Since that cold, wet night, they had developed an odd sort of friendship. They never interacted outside of his car dealership and her weekly cleaning visits, but Elena knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if she asked for his help, Damon would come through on that promise he had made to her.

"Hey, girl!" Bonnie, my best friend, greeted me by bumping her hip against mine. She flashed me one of her bubbly, sweet smiles while gathering her hair into a high ponytail. "You want to borrow some perfume and makeup from my kit? Because I know you want to look good for that sexy Italian fox you like to make eyes at," she mercilessly teased.

"Hush!" Elena laughed it off but her cheeks were burning hot. "I do not make eyes at him."

"Girl, please." Bonnie rolled her eyes at her. "You are over there blinking all pretty at him, and he is standing there brooding and staring at you like he wants to just eat you right up."

Elena squeezed her thighs together at the images Bonnie's words evoked. Sometimes she let herself imagine that maybe, just maybe, Damon was as infatuated with her as she had become with him. But those hopes died quickly when she considered how rich and powerful he was compared to her. He lived in a world that she would never understand. There was nothing good to come from crushing on a man who would never notice her.

"Do you want to come over tomorrow and see the new dresses I have designed?" Bonnie adjusted her employee lanyard. "I'm trying to decide which two or three I'm going to include in my end of year portfolio. I could use your help choosing."

"Sure."

"And maybe you could loan me some of your purses and accessories for the photos?"

"I still owe you big time for loaning me the outfits for my graduation project earlier this year so consider it done. You can have whatever you want."

"What I want is for us to finally scrape together enough money to open our own boutique," Bonnie said before giving Elena a rib-cracking hug. "Because I have had it up to here with scrubbing urinals and mopping floors!"

"Two more years," Elena reminded her. "We need two more years to save our capital, Bonnie."

Bonnie made a face but didn't argue. Like Elena, she was conservative with money and terrified of debt. After watching her parents go through a humiliating and painful bankruptcy, foreclosure and an SEC investigation that had driven her father to take his own life, Bonnie pinched her pennies really hard.

"Bonnie! Let's go!" Judy, one of the shift supervisors, stood in the doorway and waved her hand. "We have got a lot of stops to make before sunrise."

"I will see you around, friend." Bonnie playfully tugged Elena's ponytail. "Make sure you bat those thick eyelashes of yours when you tell that Italian fox do svedaniya."

Bonnie was too quick for Elena to whack as she scampered toward the door, her giggling lighting up the room. Elena stuck her tongue out at Bonnie's back. There was no way in the world she was going to flirt with Damon. The odds of embarrassing herself were too high, and she valued their friendship too much.

But as Elena climbed into the front seat of the work van Manny was driving, she wondered if tonight was the night she would finally break down and ask Damon for help.


	2. Chapter 2

Damon Salvatore blew out a noisy breath of frustration and flopped back in his desk chair. He wiped his hands down his face and rubbed at his tired eyes. His irritated gaze landed on the computer screens on his desk. His stomach swirled like a pit of black despair as he took in the evidence of what he was beginning to fear might be an attempt at full-blown theft of his clients' financial information.

All that money he had spent hiring Giuseppe's little hacker to set up his computer system seemed to finally be paying off for him. He hadn't been sure that investing in that blue-haired tattooed pixie was a good idea but now he thanked his lucky stars he had taken his father's advice. The former spy could be overly paranoid at times, but he had been right about this.

 _But who would be stupid enough to try to steal from me?_

That question perplexed Damon the most. The Salvatore family was originally from Italy and they were one of the powerful members of the Italian mafia family for over a century. Damon's father, Giuseppe Salvatore had left the mafia family and created a new, clean life for himself almost twenty years. The Salvatore family had settled down in Mystic Falls and soon Giuseppe became one of the most powerful man in town. Despite leaving the mafia family, Giuseppe still had a reputation as a brutal street enforcer and a businessman willing to cut his rivals off at the knees. Damon, Giuseppe's eldest son was the same. When he discovered the identities of the people who had tried to compromise his clients and ruin his business, Damon was going to make them hurt.

For now, though, he was reassured that no client information had been stolen from the finance department. And thank God for that! His father had built a solid name for himself among Mystic Falls' elite and moneyed crowd as the go-to guy for high-end luxury vehicles. Damon couldn't afford to let anything destroy the family's reputation. If people lost their trust in him, he would lose everything. Thinking of all the hard work he had put into growing their family business empire, he experienced a wave of nausea.

Damon refused to lose anything. His ancestors had fought and clawed their way off the streets in Rome and into the mafia family. Later, Giuseppe had used his fists and cunning to buy his way into a better life here in Mystic Falls. From one dealership, he had grown to a string of them up and down I-45 as well a trucking company, a couple of automotive parts stores and a small fleet of tow trucks and tire service shops. He had built something real and successful. Damon had taken over the family business for the last five years and he vowed that he would never let his father down. He would fight to the last breath to protect that.

Still seething with fury that some stupid bastard had dared to steal from him, Damon ignored the soft knock at his closed office door. More than an hour after closing, there were only a handful of employees remaining and he had given them explicit instructions to leave him alone. When the knock grew louder and more insistent, he shoved out of his chair and stormed across his office with forceful strides. He jerked open the door and shouted, "What?"

Damon instantly regretted his snarled outburst when he spotted Elena Gilbert standing in the hallway. The discovery that he had just yelled at the sweet soft-spoken beauty hit him like a punch to the gut. Those brown doe eyes of hers, the ones that tormented his dreams, were now wide with fear. Her luscious pout wasn't curved with its usual smile either.

"I'm sorry," Elena stammered out quickly. Seemingly shocked by his angry greeting, she shrank back and quickly retreated from his doorway. She gulped as if suddenly nervous and tightly gripped the small plastic tote packed with cleaning supplies and a microfiber duster. "I'm really sorry."

Remembering what he knew of the men who had knocked her around when she was a little girl, he felt instantly shamed at scaring her.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath and took a careful step forward. Thankfully, Elena didn't flinch when he touched her shoulder. It was the first time he had dared to touch her so intimately. A quicksilver spark of need burned his fingertips, and he had to fight down the urge to slide his hand towards the sleek curve of her neck where he could stroke her silky skin. "I'm sorry, Elena. I didn't realize it was you."

"It is fine." Her voice was quiet and tense. "I shouldn't have bothered you while you were working."

"It is not fine, and you are not bothering me. I enjoy your company. Always," he said, the dark intensity of his voice drawing her attention. A curious expression played upon her gorgeous face. For the briefest of moments, Damon considered finally being honest with her and telling her the truth about the feelings that had been tormenting him since last Christmas.

How would Elena react if he told her that he purposely stayed late on Wednesday evenings just because he wanted an excuse to talk to her? What would she say if he told her that his heart was thumping against his ribcage right now because he was getting to see her a second time in the same week? Because he was close enough that he could breathe in the tantalizing scent of that barely-there hint of beach and sunshine from the perfume she wore?

Clearing his throat and abandoning that line of thought, Damon asked, "Why is your crew here again?"

"Your manager called and asked for us to come back because of all the mud and rainwater that got tracked onto your showroom floor. Apparently you had a busy day," Elena said with a timid smile. "She wanted everything to be bright and shiny for the weekend."

Happy to talk about something positive, Damon nodded. "Fridays are always good for business, but today was one of our best Fridays ever. I have a good feeling about this weekend." Despite the knowledge that his office was perfectly clean and tidy, he still moved aside and waved toward his desk. "Come in, please."

Elena tried to slip by Damon, but he purposely angled his body to force her to brush against his chest. It was a provocative move but he couldn't stop himself. As soon as they made contact, he noticed the flush that deepened the colour of her face and neck. She never wore makeup when working so he could easily see the blush spreading. His entire body thrummed as he imagined having Elenain his bed, naked and writhing under his greedy hands, and watching that sweep of pink spread from the very tips of her toes to the top of her head.

Elena whacked his arm with the duster. "Behave or else I will send Manny up here to tackle your office."

There it was. That sweet, flirty smile that Damon sometimes managed to draw from her. It was the smile that brightened his whole day. Playing her game, he drew a little cross over his heart. "I swear I will be on my best behaviour."

Elena laughed. "I will believe that when I see it."

Damon didn't follow her into the office. Tempted to overstep the line of friendship that existed between them, he remained near the door because he truly didn't trust himself to behave. On edge with the discovery of the attempted theft from his business, it would be too easy to give in to the walking temptation that began to dust and polish his furniture. He respected Elena all the more for the way she never allowed their friendship to get in the way of her job. She had a work ethic that he wished he could bottle up and force feed to the new employees who tried to make the cut on the showroom floor.

"Looks like you have been busy." She eyed the mess of paperwork on his desk before glancing at him with obvious concern. "You shouldn't work so late, Damon." Her gaze drifted to the gym bag in the corner of his office. "Were you training this morning, too?"

"It was just a workout."

"At what time?"

"Six."

"So you were up at five?" When Damon nodded, Elena said his name in a censorious tone. "Damon! You are going to run yourself ragged!" She looked at his trash can and surely noticed the containers from his uneaten lunch. "Have you eaten today?"

"I had breakfast."

Elena shot him a look of consternation. "Do you remember two months ago when you got onto me about my schedule? About how I needed to drop one of my jobs and take better care of myself?"

Damon remembered it clearly. He had discovered her damn near dead on her feet with her stomach growling so loudly he could hear it all the way down the hall. He had forced her into his office, closed the door and ordered her to sit on the couch. He had leaned against his desk and watched her eat an apple and Cliff Bar from the snack basket in the employee lounge.

It was the night he had nearly broken the rule he had created for his friendship with Elena. Damon had sworn to himself that he wouldn't get involved with her but that night? Christ, that night he had wanted to smash that wall he had built between them, sweep her up in his arms and smuggle her away to some place private where he could keep her safe and protected and pampered.

But Elena was proud and independent. If he offered her the same sort of arrangement he had given the other women in his past? She would smack the shit out of him. Even now, he could feel the phantom sting of her small hand slapping his cheek. He couldn't decide if such a hit would anger or arouse him.

"I thought you stopped working Fridays and weekends." Damon needed to steer his thoughts and the conversation into safer waters.

"I did but my sister needed me to cover her shift." Elena rose on tiptoes to drag the edge of the duster along the top of a bookshelf. The undershirt she wore prevented him from getting a peek at that smooth plane of stomach he hadn't glimpsed since the weather turned colder. He wanted to rip that damned shirt to shreds. "But it turned out that Katherine got fired yesterday so she wasn't on the schedule. Tanner offered me a couple of hours of overtime to come here and take this job so—"

"Wait." Damon held up a hand and tried to follow what she had just said. "Your sister was fired? For what?"

Elena shrugged. "I have no idea."

Damon had a few of his own. From what he had seen of Katherine's attitude during her weekly stops at his dealership, he could only imagine the long list of complaints CleanRite had on file for her.

But something else she had said had piqued his interest. "If she was fired yesterday, why did she ask you to work for her today?"

Elena didn't answer immediately. Instead, she seemed very interested in a corner of his desk. She wiped and swirled a microfiber cloth over the already polished wood. "I think she wanted me out of the house tonight."

There were only a few reasons he could think of for such a thing. None of them were very good. "Why?" Again she hesitated. "Elena?"

Elea stopped cleaning and lifted worried eyes towards Damon. "Some guys came by the house looking for her as I was leaving."

"Guys? What guys?" His protective instinct raged to life. He shot off the door frame he had been leaning against and crossed the office with purposeful strides. His mind raced as he tried to figure out who might have come after Elena. "Who was it, Elena?"

"Those crazy skinheads," Elena said, her dark eyes flashing with fear. "There were three of them in a truck. They had tattoos all over them. Ugly ones, if you know what I mean."

Damon did. Her body language confirmed his worst suspicions. "Did they threaten you?"

Reluctantly, Elena nodded. "If Spider and his crew hadn't rolled up, I'm not sure what would have happened."

Damon bit his tongue rather than unleash the stream of expletives that burned his mouth. He had always feared that Katherine and her drug dealing boyfriend would put Elena in danger. "What did they want?"

"I don't know. We didn't get that far before Spider tossed them off his property."

Damon made a mental note to send the motorcycle club vice president a bottle of Dalmore from his private collection. His father and Spider had done business over the years and had run in the same underworld circle back in the day. He was a complicated man but a mostly good one. Right now, Spider was the best chance Elena had at staying safe when at home. Damon wasn't above bribing the man to keep a close eye on her.

"Damon?"

The sound of his name coming from that sweet mouth of hers was nearly his undoing. "Yes?"

"They wanted me to go with them. They said their boss wanted to have a chat with me." Elena wrung the microfiber cloth between her hands now. "What do I do if they find me again?"

 _Chat my ass_ , Damon thought crossly. Marko played the role of upstanding citizen and successful real estate developer but Damon knew exactly what sort of man he was.

That massacre out in the rural area of Mystic Falls a few weeks earlier had been reported as meth dealer on meth cooker violence, but Damon and everyone with connections to the murky undercurrent of crime running through Mystic Falls knew the truth. Marko and his men had ambushed that meth den with shotguns blazing.

There were whispers that Marko and his men had let some young black kid go but he didn't believe that. Not unless there was big money involved or some sort of favour that had been traded for the kid's safe return.

If they got their hands on Elena? Damon couldn't bear to even think about what those hateful thugs would do to such a beautiful girl. The image of her supple skin marked by bruises or worse made him want to hurt someone. His fingers curled into fists at his sides. He would beat those men bloody if they put one hand on Elena.

"Do you have your phone on you?"

Her brow furrowed at his question. "Yes."

"Give it to me. Now."

Elena slipped her hand into the front pocket of her smock and retrieved her iPhone. The device was encased in a buttery yellow leather case. Damon could see the fine stitching and embossed initials and knew that it was one of her creations. Why she hadn't made the jump to expand her business he would never understand. Her products screamed luxury and would fly off the shelves but something was holding her back. When this mess with her sister was tidied up, he intended to figure out what that was.

Her thumb danced over the screen, unlocking it with her chosen code, and then she handed it to him. Their fingers touched, and he let them linger there. It didn't escape his notice that she didn't pull her hand back either.

Taking the phone from her, Damon punched in his phone number and saved it as a new contact. "If you see those men again, you call me." He stared down at her and made sure she was looking right into his eyes when he said, "If you have any trouble with anyone, you call me. If someone tries to hassle you, I want you to use my name."

"Damon," Elena hurriedly interjected, "I don't want to drag you into this. It is not your problem."

"I'm making it my problem."

"But—"

"This isn't up for discussion." _Why is she fighting me on this?_ Damon thought. "Elena, you are a very smart girl. You know what sort of men your sister hangs out with and you know what people in that world are capable of doing. I'm your best chance at staying safe."

Elena wrapped her slim fingers around his thick wrist and a jolt of something powerful travelled up his arm and into his chest. Her anxious expression surprised him. "I don't want you to get hurt. Not for me," she added quietly.

Damon couldn't remember the last time someone had been worried about him. Maybe his brother Stefan in that final bare knuckle fight? The realization that Elena was more concerned about his welfare than her own made him want to take care of her even more. She was the sort of person who would put everyone else first without stopping to think about her own needs.

"I'm not afraid to get hurt." _Not for you,_ he silently amended.

"I don't want you to feel as if I'm taking advantage of our friendship."

Damon damn near laughed upon hearing her voice that fear. If anyone was trying to take advantage of their friendship…

"It is not a concern. We are fine." He pressed the phone into her hand and curled her fingers around it. "If I find out that you didn't call me when you needed me, I'm going to be very upset, Elena."

It was said with a teasing smile but Elena seemed to understand that Damon was serious. If she let her pride get in the way of her safety, he would introduce her to a side of himself she might not like. The side of himself that would think nothing of heating up that perfect little ass of hers to teach her a lesson…

"Elena?" Manny ducked his head into the office and startled Elena. She tried to pull back but Damon held tight to her hand and the phone, keeping her right there. They were doing nothing wrong, and he didn't want her to feel as if she had anything to hide.

"Yes?" She avoided his intense gaze and focused solely on her co-worker. Damon could feel her fragile fingers flexing beneath his as she tried to free her hand from his but he was stronger and she soon abandoned her attempt to escape.

"We need some help down on the floor when you are done in here."

"I'm finished. I will be right down."

Manny glanced at their entwined hand but didn't say anything. Whatever he was thinking he kept to himself and retreated from the office.

Damon held fast to Elena's hand even after Manny disappeared. She stared at their clenched hands and slowly rotated hers until she was able to touch the scar on the first joint of his finger. Her touch burned his skin as she traced the solid black rectangle. Without lifting her eyes, she asked, "How did you get this?"

Damon considered making something up but then she glanced up at him with that curious, sincere expression. "A fight."

"What happened?"

His throat tightened as memories he had set fire to and buried and encapsulated in the far corners of his mind tried to burst free. "I was hit with a broken glass bottle. I grabbed the bottle to stop it from hitting my belly."

She slackened with shock. Her dark eyes searched his face. "How old were you—"

"When I started to fight?" he finished her question. "Ten. I'm eight years older than my little brother. I have to protect him."

"You were just a kid!"

Damon laughed harshly. "I stopped being a kid around seven or eight. You become an adult when you need to survive."

"Still…"

"It was a long time ago. Before my father moved to Mystic Falls" He shut her down carefully but forcefully. Her kindness and horror on his behalf threatened to turn him inside out. He didn't deserve her concern. He had been a miserable, mean little bastard since he was a kid.

"I need to go." Elena carefully extricated her hand. "Manny and the rest of the team have more stops to make tonight after they drop me off."

"Where are you going after work?" Damon was riding right up against the wall he had built between them now and searching for any weakness or opening that might let him through.

Elena eyed him with uncertainty. "I'm headed home. I have a couple of handbags that need to be finished."

"Drive straight home," Damon instructed. "Don't make any stops, Elena. Just go home and get inside as quickly as possible." The million ways her drive home could go wrong flashed before his eyes. "Is there someone you can stay with tonight?"

"Well…I mean, I guess I could see if Bonnie wouldn't mind if I crash at her apartment."

Two young women alone in an apartment were just as vulnerable. Damon didn't like that option at all. "Let me drive you."

"What? No." Elena waved the duster side to side. "That is way over the top, Damon. I will be fine. I'm going to get in my car, drive home and go inside. It will be fine."

"Elena—"

"I appreciate the offer, Damon, but I don't need a babysitter. I'm a grown woman. I can handle this."

Damon didn't want to fight with her so he simply nodded. "All right. Be safe, Elena."

"I will." Elena smiled at him. "Thank you, Damon. For everything."

Damon understood she meant his offer of help and his phone number. He waited until she was out of sight to turn back toward his desk. He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Wes' number. It was time to collect on a favour.

While he waited for the young enforcer to answer, he moved to the wall of glass that allowed him to overlook the showroom and sales desks. He watched Elena trading out the mats along the entrance doors. Down on her hands and knees, she used tight circular motions to wipe away the smudges left behind. The sight of her working like that bothered him. It was honest work, and he respected her for that, but she deserved a break from hard labour.

 _I could take care of her,_ Damon thought. _I could take her to the apartment and give her everything she wants and needs._

But not everything, he silently admitted. He couldn't give her a commitment. He couldn't give her love and marriage and all the things a woman like Elena wanted and needed. He wasn't that kind of man. He liked to keep his relationships neatly compartmentalized. He enjoyed the mistress arrangements that had served him well over the last few years.

Elena was better than that, he conceded. She was too good for that.

"Hello?"

"Wes? It is Damon Salvatore. You remember that favour you owe me?"

Wes laughed. "A guy gets one discount on a new car…"

"Discount?" Now it was Damon's turn to laugh. "I practically let you walk off the lot with that new A7."

"Fair enough. What do you need?"

He watched Elena trailing her crew out of the dealership. When she reached the doorway, she paused and looked over her shoulder and up at his office. Their gazes met across the distance. She lifted her hand and waved at him. He wasn't the waving type but for her? He made an exception tonight. Her lips curved with amusement and then she was gliding out the door and into the cold, dark night.

"I need you to get over to the CleanRite headquarters. I will text you the address. You are going to follow someone for me. I want you to sit on her house until I can get there."

"I know where that is. We do business down there." Wes paused. "Anything I should know?"

"She is in trouble but it is not her fault. It is a family matter."

"Uh-huh." Wes didn't seem very enthusiastic about this favour but he would do as asked. "Our family?"

"No."

Wes sighed. "I'm not going to ask questions, okay? But you need to get this cleared from the top. The boss won't be happy if I step in dog shit and drag it back to his front door.

"I will take care of it. As soon as I get the answers I need, I will find you." Damon ended the call, shut down his desktop, locked the files on his desk in his safe and left his office with his gym bag strap draped over his shoulder. He stopped just long enough to give the last manager on shift his orders for the night.

Once in his SUV, he quickly triaged his priorities. Elena had him all twisted up inside. The discovery that she was in serious trouble had him more on edge than the discovery that someone had tried to hack into his financial department and steal client information. He could deal with the people who had tried to steal from him. No one could hide from him, not in this city and not with his connections, but Elena could be badly hurt by the men who were after her sister. The old rules that used to govern the underworld were no longer respected. He didn't trust Marko and his racist crew as far as he could throw them.

There were two places he could go for information. Trevor, Hampton mob boss had been out of pocket for a few weeks, and Damon was smart enough not to ask too many questions about that. So that left only one man in Mystic Falls who had the answers he needed.

Damon lifted up in his seat and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket. He checked to see how many twenties and fifties he had for tips. Logan Fell, the Mystic Falls mob boss, was a friend, but the bastard was stingy as hell with his information unless his dancing girls were getting their cut. Tonight, he would have to make it rain to pry the answers he wanted from Logan.

Backing out of his reserved spot, Damon thought about being in the mafia family. For the first time in a long time, the calling card of his criminal history was going to be useful.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena knew something was wrong even before the van rolled to a stop behind CleanRite. Manny inhaled sharply and Jake cursed softly. Elena had a bad feeling so she leaned toward the rear passenger window to get a better look at what the two guys in the front seats had seen.

Damn.

Her stomach lurched as she took in the slashed tires and smashed windshield on her car. It looked as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Tanner, her boss, stood next to the car. He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head as he stared at the destruction in front of him.

Manny slowed to a stop and Elena bailed quickly. Her two co-workers started to follow her but she put her hand up to halt them. "You guys need to get to those other jobs. I will be fine here."

Showing his paternal instincts, Manny hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Tanner is here. I will call the police and then grab a taxi or hang around until Bonnie is back."

"All right." He eased out of the parking lot and turned onto the street.

Tanner strode toward me, his face showing complete shock. "Elena, I am so sorry."

"What happened?" Elena stood next to her car and tried to take in all the damage. It was even worse up close. There wasn't a piece of solid glass left on the vehicle. The dents in the doors and the hood were so deep she could sit in them. She spotted the note on the driver's seat and carefully reached into the car to grab it.

"I was doing inventory in the stock room," Tanner explained. "The music was loud so I didn't realize what was happening out here until I heard the glass shattering. It sounded like a damn bomb had gone off. By the time I got out the back door, the truck was driving off."

Elena brushed the bits of glass from the folded note and opened it with trembling fingers. Inside she found a meanly scrawled message.

 _We want it back._

 _Sunrise._

 _Or you are all dead._

Elena swallowed hard as she folded up the note and tucked it into her pocket. She realized Tanner was staring at her and waiting for her to say something, but she didn't know what the hell she was supposed to say.

"Should I call the police?" he asked quietly but Elena could tell he already knew the answer.

"No." Her cell phone started to vibrate in her pocket and momentarily distracted her from the terrifying thoughts racing through her head. These guys were the sort of people who wouldn't be afraid of the police. For that matter, she didn't know what Katherine had done to anger them. The last thing Elena wanted was for her sister to be arrested. She didn't know a lot about county lockup but she didn't think it would be very hard for the skinheads to find someone to hurt Katherine on the inside.

She grabbed her phone and glanced at the screen. Katherine's face greeted her, and she expelled a relieved breath. "Katherine! Where the hell are you?"

"Elena? Can you hear me?" Loud music, heavy on the accordion and brass, covered her voice. "Elena?"

"Katherine?" Elena spoke louder. "You are in trouble. I need to see you!"

"Elena? You there? Listen, if you can hear me, come to the Arena. Just use Kai's name. They will let you inside. Text me and I will come find you."

"Are you freaking kidding me? Katherine, this is serious! I am not coming to the Arena. You need to—"

The call dropped, and Elena swore with frustration. She looked up from her phone and stared at her surroundings. A ripple of fear rolled through her stomach. They were so exposed here. If those guys came back…

"Elena, tell me how to help you." Tanner seemed to share her fear about hanging around here too long.

"The Arena is a couple of blocks from here. Can you drop me off?"

He didn't look very excited by that idea but nodded nonetheless. "Get your stuff. We will get out of here."

Elena hurried inside the building, grabbed her purse and jacket from her locker and raced back outside to find Tanner waiting to lock the door behind her. Once the building was secure, she followed him to his idling truck and slid into the front passenger seat. As they were pulling out of the building, she remembered she had forgotten to clock out. "I forgot to swipe my ID."

Tanner shot her a strange look. "We have got bigger problems than you staying on the clock."

He had a point. Elena sensed he wanted to ask her what the hell was going on, but he probably understood that was dangerous. Sometimes it was better not to know all the facts, especially when dealing with a situation like this one. He didn't need that kind of trouble, and she didn't blame him for staying quiet.

Elena gripped her phone in both hands and questioned her decision to meet Katherine at the Arena. On one hand, she doubted those jerks who had trashed her car and threatened her at the house were stupid enough to get anywhere near that concert. Considering the bands that were playing, the place was going to be crawling with gangs and dealers and all of those enforcers loyal to Kai Parker. There would be a battle royale if those two groups of enemies met.

On the other hand, she really, really didn't want to see Kai. Katherine had tried to get them together so many times, but her list of wants from a man and a relationship didn't match her sister. Katherine viewed a guy like Kai as the ultimate catch. He was good-looking and had lots of money and power.

But he scared Elena.

Kai had a bad reputation for being ruthless and cruel. He was the reason Katherine had gone to that awful, horrible dog fight last month. Mason had wanted to get in good with his boss and fighting dogs was something Kai loved so she had gone to support him. It just sickened Elena to think about people standing around those cages while starved and beaten dogs chewed each other to pieces. It was so barbaric.

A man who enjoyed something so violent and brutal was a man who would think nothing of hurting a girl like her. So Elena definitely did not want to see Kai tonight, but there was little chance of avoiding him if she wanted to speak to Katherine. She hated that her sister was putting her in this position. If she was being brutally honest, she sort of hated herself for always letting her sister have her way and not pushing back and enforcing boundaries.

 _You have got to grow up and put a stop to this crap. Never again,_ Elena swore silently. _Never again will I find myself in a situation like this._

Running her finger along the edge of her phone, Elena remembered the way Damon had taken it from her and entered his phone number in her contacts. The way he had shoved off that door frame and rushed towards her had filled her stomach with a swarm of butterflies. Even now, she experienced a fresh flutter in her lower belly.

That protective streak of his did crazy things to her heart. It made her want something she had never dared to chase. It gave Elena a glimpse of what it would be like to belong to someone who wanted to take care of her.

 _Call him. He will come for you._

Elena turned the phone over and ran her finger over the screen. If she called Damon right now, he would insist that she come back to the dealership or he would want Tanner to drive me somewhere other than the Arena. If she didn't go find Katherine right now, her sister could get hurt. Those men might ambush her and Mason after the concert. Elena needed to get to her quickly.

And then she would call Damon. This was one time she wasn't going to let her pride get in the way of her safety. He had offered his help, and she was going to grab hold with both hands and hang on tight while he dragged her out of this mess. He knew this world better than her, and she trusted him to get her out of this alive and whole.

Before Elena was ready, they neared the Arena. Tanner looped around the freeway. He glanced at her as they sat in traffic. "Do you want me to take you up to the parking garage? There's that covered walkway between the garage and the entrance. It will be warmer."

"I have got my jacket. Just let me out here," Elena decided, already shrugging into it.

"Be careful, Elena." Concern filled his voice. "Just find your sister and then lay low. If you need help getting out of town, call me. My brother drives out to Richmond to see his kids on the weekend. He could take you with him in the morning. You could hide out in a hotel there."

"I will think about it." Dread swirled in her stomach as Elena slid out of the truck and scurried along the sidewalk toward the Arena. She fell into a crowd that included concert latecomers and couples leaving early. There was a heavy police presence outside that made her feel marginally better about her decision.

She squeezed between two small groups and entered the lobby. She drew some strange looks in her work clothes and jacket. Oh well. she wasn't here to find a date or have a good time. She was here to find her sister. That was it.

As Elena glanced down to type in a quick text to Katherine to ask her to come meet me, she heard her name being called by a male voice she really, really didn't want to hear. Damn.

"Elena! Baby! You made it!" Kai Parker called out to her, and she tried not to flinch. The last thing Elena wanted to do was make him mad. From the stories she had heard straight from Katherine's mouth, she knew he had a mean streak in him.

Schooling her features, she tightly gripped her phone and turned to find Kai walking towards her. Flanked by his inner circle of enforcers, Kai commanded the attention of every person standing in the lobby. With that snow white blazer layered over a black shirt, he looked slick and like a flush entrepreneur out for a night on the town. Over the summer, he had toned down his usual jewellery choices to diamond studs, an outrageously expensive watch and a single gold chain with a simple crucifix. He could almost pass for an upstanding citizen. Almost.

Kai swooped in and curved his arm around her shoulder. Elena had to muscle down the urge to shrug him off. His cologne was too heavy, and she couldn't stand the scent of it. He dipped down until his mouth was close to her ear. She shivered but he misread it as encouragement. "Come with me, Elena. Your sister sent me to get you. We are in the back."

The arm curved around her shoulders tightened and pressed her forward. Every instinct in Elena's body screamed to push him away and run out the main entrance and back into the cold, dark night, but she had to find Katherine. She would believe anything Mason told her, but Elena prayed her sister would listen to her and maybe even agree to come with her.

Kai dropped his arm from her shoulders, grasped her hand and dragged her along behind him. Immediately, Elena compared his possessive grip to the way Damon had held her hand in his office. His fingers had been strong and warm, his grip firm but gentle and reassuring. She still couldn't believe she had been so bold and traced that scar on his skin. She might have imagined it, but she could have sworn his breath hitched in his throat when she touched him.

But her breath wasn't hitching in her throat as Kai led her through the thick crowd. The blaring live music momentarily disoriented her. A driving beat of brassy bass and drums pushed a lively accordion tune as a pair of singers wailed lyrics that had the entire arena up on their feet. The band on stage was somewhat infamous for their narcocorridoes so she wasn't surprised by the violent imagery on the posters lining the walls or on the merchandise displayed at the first table they passed.

As the singer crooned, he caught Elena's attention with one of his lyrics about an Italian. She looked towards the stage and listened more intently as he sang about an ice cold Italian king who had had his heart melted by the blue-eyed machete princess. He sang of the way the Italian was made immortal and untouchable because of the love of his wife and of a night when new blood washed away the old and new kings were crowned by the Italian.

Elena wasn't the only one listening to the music now. Kai had stopped and glared at the stage, the darkness inside the building hiding eyes that she was sure were shining with fury. She didn't know everything that had happened over the summer and early fall, but between Katherine and the news reports, she had been able to piece together the power shift in the cartel and in Mystic Falls' underworld. The fact that the band had the balls to stand up there and sing about the bloody coup Kai had perpetrated both impressed and horrified her.

Kai said something to one of his enforcers before jerking on her hand and dragging her along more forcefully. That band was probably going to have a rough end to their night as the enforcer left the group with a couple of other men.

That was not her problem. _Worry about yourself. Find Katherine and get her out of here,_ Elena reminded herself.

She tried to keep her head down and her eyes averted as she reluctantly followed Kai around the outer rim of the seating area. Even so, she didn't miss the way people deferred to him or the way his enforcers cut a wide swath through the crowd. Seeing the street respect he had earned helped Elena understand why Katherine had gotten swept up in Mason's lifestyle. To be treated like someone important? She must have found it utterly addicting.

As they neared the backstage entrance, Elena quickly glanced around to get her bearings. Back behind her, there was an emergency exit near the bar. Up ahead, she could see a flash of light as a pair of doors opened to the loading dock. If she needed to get out of here quickly, she had two good options.

Clutching her phone in her hand and hiking her purse strap higher on her shoulder, Elena let Kai led her into the backstage area and down a dimly lit hall. His enforcers peeled away in groups of two until they were alone outside a closed door. Instantly, her heart leapt into her throat. This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all.

Pulling back on his hand, she managed to free herself from his grasp. "Where is Katherine?"

He opened the door without looking at her. "She is gone."

"Gone?"

If Katherine was gone, why was he taking her into this room? Into a room that was at the very end of a long, dark hallway and guarded by his enforcers. A room so isolated that no one would be able to hear her scream over the loud music from the onstage band.

Before Elena could fully process the sudden danger she was in, Kai grabbed the back of her neck and shoved her into the room. She stumbled forward and right into a desk. Her phone and purse skidded across the surface and onto the floor. She had barely regained her balance when Kai fisted the collar of her jacket and spun her around until her back slammed into the now closed and locked door. Her teeth rattled as her head whacked into the metal slab behind her.

In the next instant, Kai's mean face was right up in hers. The scent of peppermint and his cologne overwhelmed her. Elena put both hands on his chest and tried to push him off of her, but he used his hip to pin her in place before grabbing her ponytail and yanking her head back. She cried out in pain and shock but he didn't loosen his grip. "Stop!"

"Stop?" He laughed and used his other hand to grab her throat. His fingers bit into her skin, marking her and threatening to choke the air right out of her lungs. "No, Elena. We are so far beyond that now."

He released her hair but kept that cruel hand of his on her throat, all but immobilizing her. Tears sprang to her eyes when he unzipped her jacket and shoved it off my shoulders. He grabbed a handful of the pink fabric of her work uniform and sneered. "You need my help, and this is the way you present yourself to me?" He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "You are going to have to learn quick how my girl is supposed to look."

"Your girl?" Elena sputtered in gasping breaths.

He nodded slowly. "Your sister and Mason messed up and left a huge pile of shit right on my doorstep. I'm going to clean up their mess but your little ass is going to be my payment."

Horrified by the quid pro quo he was describing, Elena scratched at his hands and tried to force them away from her throat. "No! No!"

He winced as she clawed at his skin and drew blood. With a slap to her face, he knocked the fight right out of her. His hand tightened around her throat as he surveyed the damage she had inflicted. "Ay, Elena. You are really going to have to work for it now."

"Please." Elena coughed out the word. "Please, Kai. Don't."

"I don't want to hurt you." The fingers around her throat eased some but he roughly hissed, "You played your little game with me too long. I can't let your family get away with this disrespect."

"Please, Kai," Elena begged futilely. "I don't know what Katherine or Mason did. This isn't my fault."

He dragged his fingers along the hot strip of skin he had just slapped. "It doesn't matter. People will talk. They have to know I'm in control. Do you understand what that means?"

Oh, God. Elena did. She did understand—and it terrified her.

She bit back a sob and tried to keep her eyes lowered demurely. Those old painful lessons from a childhood of being knocked around by her mother and the angry men she brought home told Elena the only way she was getting out of this without major damage was to show him that he was in charge and that she would do whatever he wanted.

Kai started dragging her work smock and undershirt up her torso and over her head. Elena wanted to fight him. She wanted to kick and scream and punch but she remained motionless like a doll, letting him undress and fondle her. Her face still burned from the smack he had given her. Bile rose in her throat. The fingers on her neck were a constant reminder that with one good squeeze he could put her down for the count.

"I know you are a good girl, Elena." He ran his fingertips along her exposed flesh. "So I'm going to go easy on you tonight. I'm going to let you earn my protection and show me your loyalty."

When his hand drifted from her throat, Elena stifled a cry of panic. Of all the ways she had imagined her first sexual experience, this wasn't it. She didn't want this. She didn't want him touching her. She sure as hell didn't want to put her mouth or hands anywhere on his body either.

But she didn't want to die and she didn't want to get beaten bloody for something she hadn't done.

His hand moved back to her throat, and he pushed her back against the door. His hard gaze turned her insides cold. "I want you to remember why I'm doing this, Elena. This is to teach that puta sister of yours what happens to the people we love when we do stupid, stupid things."

Looking into his sadistic and dark eyes, Elena lost all hope. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to get beaten bloody. She didn't want to be sexually assaulted. But what she wanted no longer mattered.

Kai was going to hurt her here in this office, in a building where they were surrounded by thousands of people, to prove a point to everyone on the street that he wasn't a man to be messed up with and that no one could touch him. He was going to show the underworld that he could commit a heinous crime right under the nose of Mystic Falls PD and nothing would happen to him. By tomorrow night, everyone in town would be talking about what happened to her. She was going to be the cautionary tale they used to keep their street crews in line.

"Tell me you are sorry, Elena."

Elena swallowed anxiously and found the courage to stare into his eyes. "I'm sorry."

He tilted his head to the side as if to study her. "You aren't sorry. Not yet," he added quietly. "But you will be."

His promise of pain and humiliation sent a cold spear into her heart. He pushed down the cup of her bra and bared her breast. He cruelly pinched her nipple and drew a pained cry from her throat. "Shh," he murmured. "It will be easier if you relax."

He gripped her face in his hand, pinching her chin and cheek between his thumb and fingers, and forced a kiss on her. Elena sobbed pitifully and tried to push him away but he stabbed his tongue into her mouth uninvited. She recoiled with disgust but he wouldn't stop. His hard erection jabbed against her stomach. He was getting excited over the power struggle.

Proving her suspicion, Kai laughed acidly. "You can fight all you like, Elena. You aren't getting out of here until I say you can. Tonight I'm getting my first payment on the big bill your sister just rang up."

Desperate now, Elena cried, "I have money. I can pay you."

"I don't want your money." He used his thumb to trace her mouth. "I want the one thing no other man in Mystic Falls has ever gotten to touch." His hand slid down her stomach and between her thighs. "This." His hand moved from between her legs back up to her mouth. He jammed two fingers between her lips, and Elena gagged at the intrusion. "And this."

Drawing back his hand, he retreated a few steps and started to loosen his tie. "We will see how uppity you are once you are on your knees with your lips wrapped around my cock." He pointed at her bra and then her pants. "Take off your clothes."

Elena shuddered inside at the horror of what awaited her. In the throes of panic unlike any she had ever know, she made a decision. She had to get out of here. She had to get out of here now.

Her panicked gaze jumped to the small window behind the desk. There was a short bookcase and filing cabinet underneath it. She scanned the room for anything she could use as a weapon. A heavy crystal paperweight shaped like a teardrop caught her eye. Did she have the courage or the strength to use it?

Kai made the biggest mistake of his night by turning his back on her while shrugging out of his blazer. Elena didn't hesitate. With two quick steps, she reached the desk and swiped the paperweight. She had to use both hands to lift it high overhead. She thanked her lucky stars that Kai wasn't much taller than me.

She embraced that primitive survival instinct to do whatever was necessary to get out of here. Inhaling a sharp breath, she slammed the paperweight onto the back of Kai's head. He grunted and stumbled forward but didn't fall. Panicked that he might spin around and hit her, she struck him again.

This time, he dropped like a sack of rocks. Shocked by what she had done, Elena dropped the paperweight and stumbled away from the sight of the cartel's top man bleeding and knocked out on the dirty cement floor. Had she killed him? No, no. He was breathing. But there was so much blood...

 _You have to get out of here. Run. Now._

Elena snatched up her jacket, her purse and her phone and jumped up onto the filing cabinet. She didn't even bother trying to put on her shirt or work smock. She wasn't sure how long Kai's enforcers would leave them alone in here or how long he would be unconscious. She needed to disappear. Fast.

The window opened but it wasn't a very big space. She stuffed her phone into her purse and wrapped them both up in her jacket before shoving them out of the window. She slipped one leg through and then managed to shimmy the rest of her body out of the small slot.

Out in the shockingly cold night, Elena hurriedly jammed her arms through her jacket sleeves and tried to figure out where the hell she was. She could see the loading dock to the right and decided to run toward the left instead. Regretting every decision she had made since finding her vandalized car, she retrieved her phone from her purse, unlocked the screen with trembling fingers and found the newest contact that had been programmed into her phone.

While she prayed Damon would answer, Elena clutched her handbag to her chest and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she just kept moving away from the Arena. She had to find a place to hide.

"Hello?" Damon's confident, strong voice glided across the airwaves.

"Damon!" His name burst from her lips in a sob of relief.

"Elena?"

"Oh my god! Damon! I need your help." Elena began to weep uncontrollably. "They trashed my car and then Kai tried to—" She couldn't bring herself to say the word rape. "And I hit him and he is bleeding everywhere. God, I'm so scared."

"Elena! Calm down." He spoke firmly. His stern, commanding voice calmed her rapid heartbeat. "Where are you?"

"I'm behind the Arena? I think?" She glanced left and right and then straight ahead. In her panicked sprint, she had somehow run around the edge of the parking garage. "I don't know what to do."

"Can you get to one of the restaurants in town centre? There's a couple of fast food joints there."

"I don't know." Could she make it? She had to try.

"I will stay on the phone with you. I'm only a few minutes away from the town centre. I have been looking for you."

 _Find me,_ Elena pleaded silently. _Please find me._

Holding tight to her phone, Elena hurried across a short piece of paved road where a couple of buses were parked and squeezed between them. They were wrapped in band and sponsor logos so she tried to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible. She could hear raucous male voices and got nervous. The band's road crew was probably tucked away in Kai's pocket. She could just imagine the price on her head now.

As she made it through that obstacle, she noticed how strangely quiet her surroundings were. Where were the police? Where was security?

 _You can't trust them. You can't trust anyone except Damon. Kai can buy and bribe anyone he wants._

"Elena? Are you there?" Worry edged into Damon's voice.

Elena waited until she was well clear of the band buses to answer him. "Yes."

"Can you see those restaurants?"

"I think so." There were bright lights up ahead, just through a line of trees. "Yes. I'm almost there."

"Good. Keep moving. I'm coming for you."

Grateful for her knight in shining armour, Elena burst through the tree line and experienced a wave of elation—but it was quickly dashed by the sight of small groups of men hanging around SUVs and cars. She recognized the white gleaming SUV as one that belonged to Kai. Four of his guys stood next to it and bullshitted the night away with a circle of Mystic gang members, their neck tattoos boldly displayed for all to see.

Damn. Elena quickly flitted back into the shadows of the trees and ran back toward the parking garage. There was no way in hell she was getting anywhere near those guys. The mix of Mystic gang members and cartel enforcers on Kai's payroll meant certain death if she was caught.

"Elena? Is something wrong?"

"Kai's guys are in the parking lot. I can't go there."

Damon cursed. "There's that dim sum restaurant on the other side of the parking garage. If you can't get there, stay hidden. I will find you."

When she rounded the back edge of the long parking garage, she came out between a parked police cruiser and a long line of cargo vans. For a split-second, she considered trying to find the police officer who drove that cruiser but then she caught sight of the blood on her hands. Almost naked under her jacket, Elena didn't want to explain what had happened back in the Arena. If she got the police involved? She was a dead girl.

She scurried across the street and made it to the strip of parking lot behind Fung's Kitchen. She skirted along the edge of a massive dumpster and hurried toward the main parking area that had much better lighting. As she walked fast, she noticed the bounce of headlights to her left. She glanced back to see if there was a vehicle turning into the parking lot and nearly had a heart attack.

"Oh, God. Oh, God! Oh, God!" Elena started running even before her brain could piece together what her eyes were seeing.

"Elena? Elena! What is it?"

"It is the truck that was at my house earlier! Damn. Damn." She was sprinting now, her strides tearing up the parking lot as fast as her legs would take her. She didn't know where she was running or why. In a full-fledged panic, she had gone straight to flight mode. She didn't want to stick around to fight.

"I'm almost there. Just keep moving, Elena."

Elena hooked a quick left across the next parking lot and slipped between cars. The truck revved its engines as those skinhead goons chased her. Barely able to breathe, she raced forward on wobbly legs. Somehow she managed to make it to the car stereo place. She swung around the side of the building and found herself in a large rectangular space between commercial buildings.

Up ahead, Elena could see a narrow outlet to the front of the shopping strip. That area nudged right up against the road Damon was traveling down right now. If she could just get there…

Brakes squealed and car doors slammed closed behind her. Elena whirled around and tried to gulp down the dry ball of terror lodged in her throat. Four men advanced on her. One of them had a long piece of rope dangling from his hand. The other held a baseball bat.

"Oh, God." Her hand started to drop, and she could just barely make out the sound of Damon shouting at her, telling her he was almost there.

But he wasn't going to make it.

It was too late.


	4. Chapter 4

_One Hour Earlier_

Damon slipped his SUV into a parking space along the outer edge of the lot in front of the strip club. Logan Fell owned a string of adult entertainment spots around the town and this was one of his newest acquisitions. By the looks of it, the place needed some renovations. The club had a reputation as the place tired and rundown dancers found work at the end of their careers. Logan would have to sink a ton of money into revamping the business and discovering new talent to turn this sinking ship around, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Logan Fell - the enforcer turned loan shark and mob boss.

Glancing around the parking lot, Damon made sure his alarm engaged before crossing the pavement to the entrance. A pair of bouncers waited by the doors. They took one look and waved him inside. What would Elena say if she knew that he got VIP treatment in establishments like these? She would probably wrinkle that dainty little nose of hers and shoot him a disappointed look. The thought of her reaction made his chest tighten with shame.

 _That girl has you wound right around that little finger of hers! You never care what people think of you. But you care what Elena thinks of you._

Shoving aside that troubling discovery, Damon passed the hostess station and angled toward the rear of the club where Logan had told him he would be waiting. The heat inside the club slapped him in the face, especially after that brisk walk across the parking lot. The scent of musky, spicy perfumes saturated the air.

Every now and then, he caught a lungful of that awful smelling body spray so many of the young male patrons were overusing. It was a product he forbid the employees at any of his dealerships. He glanced at the clueless twentysomethings doused in that ungodly scent who tossed wrinkled dollar bills onto the main stage in a disrespectful display.

As Damon passed the stage, he reached into his jacket and retrieved a pair of crisp twenties that he had tucked away there. He slid them onto the stage and winked up at the blonde who smiled down at him. In a club like this, forty dollars would probably cover the stage fees and tips she would be expected to pay at the end of her shift. At least she would be able to leave tonight with some cash in her pocket.

His good deed done, Damon weaved around the tables and kept his gaze straight forward when he walked by the lap dance booths. He doubted the men hidden away there with dancers were only getting a private show for their thirty or forty bucks. It was an ugly side of the business but it was a reality, especially in a place like this.

When his cell phone began to vibrate, he answered it. "Yes?"

"Hey, it is Wes. Can you hear me? The music is loud!"

"Yes, I can hear you." Damon pressed his finger to his other ear and turned away from the DJ stand. "What is wrong?"

"Look, there was a wreck so it took me longer than expected to get to this cleaning place. Your lady? She is not here."

"Has she gone home?"

"I don't know, man. Does she drive a white car?"

"Yes." His stomach knotted with worry. "Why?"

"It has been beat to shit, Damon. The windshield and windows are busted out. Someone took a sledgehammer to the side panels and the hood."

"Is there blood?" Damon held his breath as he waited for an answer he didn't want to hear.

"No. I checked. I think it was a message to her. Wait. Hang on. There is a truck pulling into the parking lot."

"What kind of truck?" He remembered the vehicle Elena had described. Had they come back looking for her?

"I think it's the owner. He has decals on his doors and hood. Damn it!" Wes said suddenly. "I'm going to go ask him where she is."

"He might not talk to you, not after her car was just vandalized in his parking lot."

"He will talk," Wes murmured darkly. "I will call you back."

The line went dead, and Damon tried not to entertain the worst possibilities. Hopefully Elena had been at his dealership when the vandalism occurred. She could either be hiding out in the company headquarters or safe at home or with one of her friends. Knowing how much everyone liked Elena, she had probably gotten a ride somewhere with one of her co-workers or her boss. Wes would get the information they needed.

He checked his phone to make sure he hadn't missed a text or phone call from Elena. _Why didn't she call me?_ Damon thought. He tried not to get aggravated with her for not asking for his help after discovering her beaten up car but it was difficult. Hopefully she would understand now that this wasn't a game. Her sister had obviously pissed off the wrong people. Elena needed his help if she was going to get out of this unscathed.

Pocketing his phone, he spotted Logan sitting on a couch in the VIP area. The mob boss had one arm slung along the back of the leather seat and his legs extended in front of him as he watched four women dancing. He wasn't there for the show. No, he was scrutinizing each movement they made as if they were race horses or greyhounds. Judging by the tight line of his mouth, one or more of those girls wasn't going to make the cut tonight.

As Damon slid onto the opposite end of the couch, he noticed the absentminded way Logan rubbed his chest. After taking a cartel sniper's bullet earlier in the summer, the mob boss had bounced back remarkably fast. Or maybe he was just damned good at hiding the physical struggle.

Logan glanced at him and grinned. "Been a long time since you have slummed it like this, huh?"

Damon frowned. "That is a nice way to talk about your own club."

"Have you looked at this place?" Logan angled his upper body so they were talking face-to-face. "I had to toss half of the dancers here because they had prostitution convictions or were on pimp payrolls. I will be lucky if I see a profit in the next year."

"So why the hell did you buy it?"

"It is all part of the master plan," he replied with a mysterious smile. "So what favour does Damon Salvatore want from his old friend?" He gestured to the women gyrating to a slow Trey Songz track. "Is it time for a Marissa replacement?"

"No." The hard edge to his voice seemed to rouse Logan's attention.

"Oh. I see." Logan sat back and chuckled softly. "You Salvatores are falling one by one, huh? It is like popping cans lined up on a fence. So? Who is the lucky girl?"

"That is none of your business." He wasn't about to start spilling his secrets in a strip club.

Logan held up his hands. "Calm down."

"Look, I came to talk about something that is your business."

"Talk isn't free or cheap here."

Damon reached under the lapel of his jacket and retrieved the money clip tucked away in his pocket. He started peeling off twenties and dropping them on the small, low stage for the women dancing there. Logan nodded after the first four hundred dollars and then turned his attention back to Damon, "What do you want to know?"

"What business does the AB have with one of Kai's street slingers?"

"Mason?"

So Logan did know something. "Yes."

Logan made a face and shook his head. "That is bad business, Damon. You sure you want to get involved?"

"Yes." _I will do anything to protect her_ , Damon said to himself.

Logan blew out a breath and then leaned closer. "Mason and his girlfriend cooked up some identify theft scam. The girlfriend is a cleaning lady, right? So she goes into these commercial buildings—real estate firms, financial planning offices, clinics—and she plugs in a flash drive when no one is looking. She infects the computers with some virus or whatever." He moved his fingers like a big spider. "It crawls around in the company's network and gathers up all the information they need to steal identities and open up credit cards and take out loans and mortgages and buy cars."

Damon swore nastily and ran both of his hands over his head. He tugged on his hair and gritted his teeth in frustration. Was Katherine the culprit behind the attempted hack at his company?

"What is it?"

He leaned forward and peeled off ten crisp fifties for the dancers to encourage Logan to keep talking. "She cleaned two of my dealerships, the luxury flagship store and the Toyota lot. My network people isolated the threat earlier today. They managed to keep the virus from stealing information from my clients but it was a close call. Too close."

"You are lucky. Other business owners? They got screwed. Bad," Logan emphasized. "What' i worse? Those two idiots packaged up that information to sell it but they got greedy. They figured out a two-way split was better than three. So they planned to screw the hacker guy who helped them, but he found out Mason was going to—"—Logan made a cutting motion in front of his neck—"—so he ran."

"Where?"

Logan eyed the stage again, and Damon sat forward to toss more cash onto it. Seemingly satisfied, the boss said, "He ran right to Marko and told him all about the scam."

"And?"

"And Marko realized those three dumbass had stolen some sensitive information, if you know what I mean."

"I do." He could only imagine what awful, twisted secrets Marko had hidden in the books for his business. Money laundering was a dirty necessity for the underworld bosses ruling this city. "Where is he? The hacker who ran?"

Logan tapped the floor beneath his feet.

Damon stared at the highly-polished concrete. It was no secret that Marko was developing a major strip of retail space uptown. There were plenty of places to hide bodies there. Strictly speaking, it wasn't the best way to get rid of evidence. But Marko and his crew weren't playing on the same level as the professional cleaner.

"Damon, you should know that this went up for a council vote this morning. We agreed to let Kai and Marko clean house. Some of your people were hurt by this scam. Some of mine were, too. Kai didn't speak up for them or offer to settle it. From what I understand, he made arrangements for it to happen tonight."

His gut churned violently. "Who was green lit? Just the girlfriend and Mason? What about family?"

"Just those two, but you know how it goes with collateral damage…"

An invisible vice squeezed his heart. For a moment, he thought he really was having a heart attack. "Damn."

Logan tapped his shoulder. "What is this about, Damon?" Dark eyes studied him intently. "Were you sleeping with the cleaning lady?"

"No!" Damon slashed his hand through the air. "She has…" He stopped but had already said too much. There was no use in hiding it now. "There is a younger sister."

"I see." Logan exhaled loudly and shook his head. "Damon…"

"I know. Believe me. I know." This was the whole reason he preferred keeping a mistress. There was no emotional entanglement. It was clean and simple and there were rules.

Rules that he was about to blow up by doing whatever the hell was necessary to save Elena.

"Damon, you better be damned sure this girl is the one. You are talking about getting between Kai and Marko. And you might not have your ex-mafia family's support on this one," he warned. "He is battle fatigued, you know? Some of his best men are still recovering from that awful shit that went down last month. And what if this blows up in your face? If your friends on the Chamber of Commerce and all those country club assholes you run with find out that you had to cross the line to save this girl? You can kiss the reputation you and your father have built as successful, legitimate businessmen goodbye."

Everything Logan said was true but…

"She is worth it." Damon leaned forward and dropped the last of his cash, fifties and hundreds, on the stage for the women who had been dancing for them. Standing up, he straightened his cuffs. "You better put the word on the street. I won't let anyone touch her."

"No, I don't think you will." Logan regarded him carefully before rising to his feet and extending his hand. As they shook on it, Logan dragged him in closer. Staring him in the eye, he promised, "I have got your back. You do what needs to be done. I will smooth it over if your mafia family won't."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"You have connections I need if I'm going to make legitimate moves. That means you are more useful to me alive and whole than chopped up and buried under concrete."

Damon snorted and clapped Logan on the arm. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Logan stepped back. "Good luck."

"Yeah." Almost two thousand dollars lighter but armed with much needed information, Damon left the strip club. He checked his phone on the way out and noticed a text from Wes.

 _Boss man says he took her to the Arena to find her sister. Headed that way._

Damon considered the situation he had unknowingly put Wes in and experienced a wave of guilt. If Wes tangled with Kai or any of his enforcers, there would be hell to pay with the mafia family. Not wanting Wes to get into any unnecessary trouble, Damon shot him back a quick message.

 _Hang back. I'm on my way._

He slid into his seat and fastened his seatbelt. His mind raced as he drove down to the town centre. He could think of a dozen different ways to save Elena and get her out of this mess her sister had created, but he couldn't think of one viable option for saving Katherine. He had no leverage and nothing to trade for her. She was complicit and guilty and the underworld dons would want her to pay the price for her crime.

How the hell was he supposed to tell Elena that he couldn't save her sister? She would hate him for failing her. She would despise him for breaking her trust in their friendship. Before he had even had a chance to find the courage to pursue her properly, the possibility of building something real with her would be snuffed out like a candle flame.

He had just turned around a corner when his phone started to ring. The Bluetooth connection in his vehicle answered the call. Hard, panicked breaths poured out of the speakers. Instantly on alert, he answered, "Hello?"

"Damon!" A woman sobbed his name. It took him a moment to realize that was Elena's voice all twisted up with fear and panic.

"Elena?"

"Oh my god! Damon! I need your help." She began to cry. "They trashed my car and then Kai tried to—" She broke off for a moment before continuing, "And I hit him and he's bleeding everywhere. God, I'm so scared."

Kai tried to what? Damon wanted to scream the question, to demand she tell him what that son of a bitch had done to make her cry, but then he zeroed in on what she had said. He was bleeding everywhere.

Had she attacked Kai in self-defence? Was the cartel's golden boy dead? Were his men chasing her?

"Elena! Calm down." He used his most commanding voice with her, hoping it would calm her down and help her think straight. "Where are you?"

"I'm behind the Arena? I think? I don't know what to do."

The fear in her voice cut him deep. He squashed the pet names burning the tip of his tongue. This wasn't the time to coddle her. He needed to keep her from panicking. He needed to be firm and give her quick instructions that would keep her safe and alive until he could find her.

"Can you get to one of the restaurants in town centre? There's a couple of fast food joints there."

"I don't know."

"I will stay on the phone with you. I'm only a few minutes away from town centre. I have been looking for you."

 _I will find you,_ he silently swore.

Navigating the late night traffic proved tricky. He kept his ears perked and focused on the sounds coming from his speakers while his eyes were trained on the busy road in front of him. Every single intersection was agony. He just had to make one left onto the freeway and then he would be so close to her.

"Elena? Are you there?" She was being unnaturally quiet, and it worried him.

"Yes."

"Can you see those restaurants?"

"I think so. Yes. I'm almost there."

"Good. Keep moving. I'm coming for you."

Every muscle in his body tensed as he raced toward the Arena. Flashes of violent memories from his time in the mafia family taunted him. All of the awful, terrible shit he had done haunted him now. Was Elena about to pay the price for his misdeeds? Was the universe going to settle that score by hurting the only woman who had ever tempted him to lower his defences?

A sharp intake of breath and a rustle of clothing heightened his concern. "Elena? Is something wrong?"

"Kai's guys are in the parking lot. I can't go there."

Damon swore rudely and tried to think of a better option than asking her to hide. His mind recreated the surroundings of the Arena Theater. "There is that dim sum restaurant on the other side of the parking garage. If you can't get there, stay hidden. I will find you."

As the sounds of her staccato breaths and the swish of her jacket echoed in his SUV, he gauged the traffic in front of him. The vehicles were creeping along the freeway as the backup of cars entering and leaving the concert venue caused a backup.

"Oh, God. Oh, God! Oh, God!" Terror drove her voice into a higher octave.

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "Elena? Elena! What is it?"

"It is the truck that was at my house earlier! Damn. Damn."

Judging by her hard breaths and the whoosh of fabric, she was racing now, sprinting like an Olympian toward the finish line. Damon couldn't even imagine how scared Elena was. He had faced men with guns and knives and crowbars and worse during his many years in the mob, but he had never been afraid. He had been an arrogant prick and a man who enjoyed the explosion of adrenaline that came with brutal bloodshed.

He thought he had left that man behind—but he was wrong.

Listening to Elena running for her life? It had unleashed the monster inside him. With each terrified sob, the shackles chaining down the violent man he had tried to lockup and forget busted free. He was going to hurt someone tonight. He was going to hurt them badly.

"I'm almost there. Just keep moving, Elena."

Elena didn't answer. She just kept running and panting and panicking. He heard the whine of brakes and car doors opening and closing. She whimpered like a cornered puppy, and his damn heart shattered in his chest.

"Oh, God."

"Hold on, Elena!" He made a last minute decision to get off the freeway. Pressing on the accelerator, he beat the yellow light at the intersection and made a squealing right turn into the town centre. He had a vague idea of where she must have ended up and hoped his instincts were right.

Another call beeped in the background. Hoping it was Wes, he slapped at the touchscreen. "Wes?"

"Yeah?"

"Get over to the parking lots next to the Arena. The ones behind the dim sum place and that car stereo store," he clarified. "Elena is cornered. I may need your help."

"I'm there."

The call ended, and Elena's picked right back up but he could only hear faraway sounds. Had she dropped the phone? Had it been taken from her?

There was suddenly a cry of pain ricocheting around the cab of his SUV. Elena began to beg and plead for her life. Damon couldn't breathe. Was this it? Was he going to hear the end of her young and promising life?

The universe gave him a lucky break when he needed to make a left turn across three lanes of traffic. There were no cars to be seen as he floored his accelerator and entered the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant. He went straight through the parking lot and started weaving his way through the rabbit's warren of intersecting lots and loading and delivery docks for the businesses on that block.

Just when Damon started to despair, he spotted a truck parked at an angle in a dead-end space between two buildings. He quickly slammed the brakes, reversed and then threw his SUV into drive. With his gas pedal jammed to the floorboard, he clenched his jaw and unlatched his seat belt. The bright lights of his SUV lit up the scene before him, and the blood pumping through his veins started to boil.

He was reduced to his most primitive state as he took in Elena on her knees and half naked in only her bra. There was a man standing behind her and two standing off to the side. The one in front of her held a baseball bat up to her cheek.

Beat. Hurt. Kill.

His brain stopped forming complete thoughts. The primal male instincts to protect and defend overwhelmed him. Damon was out of his SUV before it had even come to a full stop. Hell bent on destruction, he stormed across the pavement and headed right for that stupid bastard with the baseball bat. The other man was taller by an inch or two and well-built but he seemed startled to see someone rushing him.

Jaw clenched, neck tight and scowling, Damon titled his forward and slammed his forehead into the man's nose. The man cried out in pain but Damon wasn't done yet. Ignoring the ache spreading through his own head, he wrenched free the bat and cracked the man across the stomach before landing another blow to his ribs. The man dropped to the pavement in a bloody, gasping heap.

Armed and dangerous, Damon turned his attention on the next closest target. One well-aimed strike to the ribs and a blow to the front of that one's knees sent him down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the third man shake free from his stupor and run. Damon let him go before turning his attention to the man standing behind Elena.

This close, he could finally see why the man was standing there. He had tied Elena's elbows and wrists together in a brutal knot that contorted her slim shoulders into an unnatural and painful position and then had looped a length of the rope around her neck. The bastard held onto the other end and pulled it tight like a leash. Blood trickled from Elena's nose and soaked into the piece of cloth—a man's handkerchief—that had been shoved into her mouth to gag her.

Growling with fury, Damon unleashed hell on that bastard. A blow to the shoulder sent the man stumbling to the side. Damon followed him as he staggered away from Elena and then cracked him across the chest with the bat. The man had tried to block the blow but succeeded only in breaking his hand. It took another two hits, one to his knees and one to the middle of his back to drop him for good.

Panting for air and high on adrenaline, Damon whirled around to search for the fourth man. He was taken aback to see Wes striding towards him with the other man at gunpoint. Hands in the air, the man marched forward as if heading toward the gallows. For a moment, Damon considered taking the bat to him but then he decided Elena had seen enough violence tonight.

Turning back towards Elena, his heart beat erratically as Damon watched her shoulders shake with silenced sobs. He crossed the distance between them and crouched down in front of her. Headlight beams illuminated her beautiful face. She gazed up at him with wet lashes and leaned into his touch when he cupped her cheek. That simple movement of seeking his warmth and reassurance threatened to break him.

Very carefully, Damon pulled the gag from her mouth and tossed it aside. He didn't bother trying to undo the knots in the rope. He pulled a small but razor sharp knife from his pocket and used it to cut her free. When the knife was safely back in his pocket, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it around her bare shoulders.

"Are you hurt? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Damon looked her over as quickly as possible but it was difficult to tell in the dark. Elena shook her head, and he decided to wait until he got her some place safe to check her more closely. He quickly gathered her small body in his arms, cradling her close to his chest, and carried her to the front seat of his idling SUV. He fastened her seatbelt and turned up the heater before closing the door and returning to Wes.

"You need to get out of here, Damon. Now," Wes added forcefully. "You don't want to be here if the police show up."

Nodding, Damon gathered up Elena's things. Her jacket was ruined with the blood splatter from the beatings he had given those men. He grabbed the bat, rope and handkerchief because he didn't want to leave behind his fingerprints or her DNA. As he picked up the personal items that had tumbled out of her purse, he spotted a folded up note. He didn't mean to read it but his eyes flicked over it before he could stop himself.

The threatening words scribbled on the paper sent a new flash of rage burning through his body. Note in hand, Damon strode back to Wes and placed the dented, bloodied end of the bat right against the skinny man's jaw. The man shook with fear as Damon pressed the weight of the wooden implement into his skin. He made sure that nervous gaze was on him as he laid it all on the line.

"You go back to Marko, and you tell him that my girl is off-limits." He balled up the note and roughly shoved it into the man's mouth, scraping his knuckles on crooked teeth but barely registering the pain. "You tell him he knows where to find me if he wants to settle this."

And then, just because he was so angry, Damon punched the man right in the stomach. He kept his fist buried in the man's soft belly and brought his mouth close to the man's ear. "I'm going to gut the next one of you skinhead bastards that gets within five hundred feet of Elena. Do you understand?"

The man coughed and nodded enthusiastically. "Ye-yes," he stuttered out a raspy reply around the paper jammed in his mouth.

"Good." Drawing back his hand, Damon glanced at Wes. The young enforcer jerked his head, silently telling Damon to beat it and fast. He didn't waste time apologizing to Wes for dragging him into this mess. There would be time for that later.

He opened the passenger door behind the driver's seat and placed Elena's purse and jacket there along with the bat and the other items he had collected. He slipped into his seat, fastened his seatbelt and quickly backed out of the narrow rectangle between the two buildings. Glancing left and right, he chose a path out of the interconnected parking lots and headed away.

The sight of flashing lights up ahead and the blare of police and fire sirens rattled him. Damon exhaled a breath of relief when he realized they were responding to a collision up ahead. As he navigated the slow crawl of traffic, he could feel Elena staring at him. Thinking of what he had just done back there and of the violent way she had seen him react, he feared what he would see if he finally found the courage to look at her.

When Damon slowed to a stop behind a line of vehicles waiting for the minor accident to be cleared from the intersection, he glanced at Elena. Her bruised and bloodied face saddened him more than anything in the world ever had. He leaned over to retrieve the extra monogrammed handkerchief he kept tucked away in the glove box and wet it with the bottle of water sitting in the centre console.

Very gently, Damon dabbed away the blood drying under her nose and trickling along the curve of her chin. When she was clean, he dropped the folded up handkerchief in a cup holder. Her long dark brown hair was such a mess. He carefully uncurled the lime green elastic that held her tresses in a ponytail and combed his fingers through the messy strands. He had no idea what he was doing but he couldn't stop gliding his fingers through the silky waves. The scent of her shampoo filled the air and inspired thoughts that were better suited to another time and place.

Gathering up her hair, he managed to tame it into a simple, low ponytail. "It is not very pretty," he apologized, "but it will do."

Her sweet mouth slanted with a timid smile. In a voice that was raw and thick from crying and fear, Elena whispered, "Thank you."

Marvelling at her reaction, Damon held tight to the ends of her hair. "How is it that you can still smile after all that?"

Elena slowly reached for his hand. The tips of her fingers peeked out from the too long sleeves of his suit jacket as she shyly and uncertainly grasped his wrist. He swallowed hard as she tugged his arm down and slid her hand on top of his. "You came for me, Damon."

That quietly spoken statement struck him with the full weight of the responsibility it carried. For most of her life, Elena had been on her own. Her father had been killed in a car wreck. Her mother had run off and left her in Katherine's care. Though her older step-sister had done her best, Elena seemed to have been the more responsible one in that household. So how many times had she needed help and been on her own? How many times had promises been broken?

Burrowed deep in his jacket, with her knees pulled up to her chest, Elena reminded Damon of a little wounded bird desperate to take flight and escape. Not to escape him but to escape the hard life of poverty and heartbreak she had known since birth. In so many ways, she reminded him of a younger version of himself. Her drive and ambition matched his, but she was infinitely more talented and kind-hearted and good than he ever would be.

Suddenly, Damon understood what needed to be done. There was no use in fighting the inevitable. He was going to give her the chance that no one ever gave him. He was going to give her the break that she so desperately deserved.

Still holding her hand, he shifted out of park as the traffic began to move. He had a destination in mind. It was the one place he had always told himself he would never take her, but it was also the one place where she would be safe, safe from Kai and Marko.

 _And me…_

Damon was honest enough to admit to himself that that he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of Elena if he took her into his home. She was temptation on two legs, and he refused to put her in a situation where she felt pressured to say yes. A little distance between them was the perfect solution.

"Elena?"

"Yes?"

Interlacing their fingers, Damon lifted her hand and placed a tender kiss on her soft, warm skin. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

One word.

No hesitation.

No question.

It was all the permission he needed to keep her.


	5. Chapter 5

Dazed and still in shock, Elena clung tightly to Damon's hand as he drove through the town. She tried to get her bearings but her brain was so fuzzy she finally gave up. Wherever they were going, she would be safe. Not even the faintest glimmer of doubt existed in her mind now.

The bat rolled around on the floorboard behind the driver's seat. When she closed her eyes, she could see Damon storming right up to the leader of that crew and slamming his forehead into that jerk's nose. She could hear the crunch of bone and the shocked curses from the men who knew they were next. The thud of wood slamming into bellies and knees echoed in her ears.

Elena was no stranger to violence. A childhood of loser boyfriends trailing her mother into their home had taught her more about cruelty and meanness than any one person needed to know. Even with all that ugly history behind her, she still couldn't quite believe what she had just witnessed. One single man taking out four others without a gun or a knife? With just his bare hands and a bat? It was breathtaking and terrifying.

She glanced at her hand clutched in his. Those hands that had just committed such brutal violence had also tended to her with such tenderness. Damon swiped his thumb side to side along her skin, the small gesture soothing her raw nerves. The two sides of this complicated man intrigued and unsettled her. Until tonight, it had been easy to categorize their friendship. There were lines and boundaries, and everything fit neatly in a friendship box.

But now? After watching him unleash hell on those men? After witnessing what he was capable of doing to protect her? After the way he had just cleaned her face and fixed her hair and now held her hand? That box had just been obliterated.

 _What does he want with me?_ Elena thought. A different question, one that made her stomach pitch with anxiety clamoured right on the tail end of that one. _What does he want from me?_

Because that was the real question, wasn't it? Nothing in this life was free. A man like Damon, a man who had escaped the mafia to become a successful, wealthy businessman wasn't going to stick his neck out for her without expecting something in return. _Would I be able to meet his price?_ Elena wondered.

 _He is not Kai. He won't make you trade your body for his protection. He is not a monster. He is a good man,_ Elena reminded herself.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes." Her voice was still dry and rough after all that crying and running. "I'm fine."

"You are not dizzy? Are you hurting anywhere? Bleeding?" Damon gave her hand a light squeeze. "I can take you to an emergency room if you need one, Elena." His grip tightened. "If they hurt you…"

"You got there in time," she said quietly. "They were just getting started when you showed up."

He muttered something angry and harsh. His grip changed and he threaded their fingers together again. "And before those skinheads found you? When you called, you said Kai was bleeding." He paused, and Elena could see the profile of his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he kept his gaze fixed on the windshield. "Your shirt is missing. You were crying. Did he—?"

"He tried," Elena cut him off before he got more worked up about it. "But he didn't get very far."

Damon's teeth grinded together so hard she expected his jaw to snap. "Did he hit you?"

She touched her still aching cheek. "Yes."

Damon snarled angrily. "I will kill him for touching you."

That wasn't hyperbole. He wasn't saying outlandish things to impress her. He meant it.

Remembering the bloody scene she had left behind, Elena whispered, "You may not get the chance."

"Why?" The lines in his forehead were prominent when he glanced at me. "What did you do?"

"I didn't have a choice." Elena started to bite her lower lip with worry but hissed when she experienced the sharp sting of pain.

Damon must have realized what she had done because in the next instant he gently chided, "Be careful. You have a busted lip. We will get some ice on it soon." He stared at her as they waited for a red light to turn green. "How badly was Kai hurt?"

"I slammed a crystal paperweight into his head," Elena admitted sombrely. "Twice."

He didn't even blink at the revelation that she had done something so violent. "Was he breathing when you left him?"

"Yes, but there was so much blood."

"Head wounds gush. If he was breathing, he will probably survive."

Fearful of the answer, Elena asked, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Damon eased on the gas and flicked on his blinker. "It is good for you and bad for me."

That didn't make sense to her. "Why would you say that?"

"It is good for you because you won't have Kai's crew or their friends in the Mystic street gang hunting you down to win a bounty."

"Why is it bad for you?"

"You don't need to worry about that." He guided his SUV through the intersection. "You are safe now. That's all that matters."

Damon's voice had that edge of finality to it so Elena didn't protest. She was so tired. She sagged in the seat and leaned her head back against it. As if sensing her exhaustion, Damon said, "We are almost there. We will get you cleaned up and find something for you to eat. It will help you feel better."

A thousand questions raced through Elena's mind. _Where are you taking me? When can I go home? What about my sister? Where am I going to find clothes? What is going to happen tomorrow?_

She didn't ask any of them. She had a sinking feeling she wouldn't like any of the answers.

When Damon slowed down and flicked his blinker to enter a private parking garage, Elena perked up a bit. A sticker with an RFID tag allowed Damon to pass through the guarded entrance to the garage attached to the soaring building that housed million dollar hi-rise condos and penthouses.

"What is it?" Damon asked as he began the looping climb to his assigned spot in the garage.

"I just never figured you for the type that would live in a condo."

He cast an approving smile her way. "You are right. I don't."

His reply confused her. "But if you don't live here—"

"This is the apartment I keep for…" His voice trailed off as he swung his SUV wide and backed into his slot.

"For?" Elena prompted nervously.

Damon shut down the engine and turned in his seat. With his hand still clamped between both of mine, he explained, "This is the home I keep for my mistress."

Tense seconds of silence stretched between them. "Your mistress?" A horrifying thought struck Elena, and she tried to jerk her hands away. Faster and stronger, he placed his other hand on hers and held her in place. "Damon! Are you married?"

"What?" Damon laughed as if that was the most outlandish thing imaginable. "No. Never."

"Then why—"

"Girlfriend is a teenager's word but mistress? That suits me just fine."

"Because?"

"Because it is an arrangement," he said matter-of-factly. "There are clear rules from the first day. It doesn't get messy or uncomfortable. It is as simple as outlining a business transaction."

The cold, distant way Damon described his romantic relationships saddened Elena. She tried to mesh together everything she knew about him with this new discovery. It didn't jell. "You are happy with that, Damon?"

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he nodded. "Yes, I'm perfectly happy with it."

Elena didn't believe him. He might be able to fool other people but that subtle shift of his eyes spoke volumes.

 _It is none of your business, Elena. Don't push,_ she reminded herself.

 _Was his mistress upstairs in bed right now? Had he left her to come find me? Was she going to be super pissed off when I walked into her home?_

Worried that she might be walking into a minefield of awkwardness, Elena said, "I don't think this is such a good idea. I don't want to cause any problems for you with your mistress."

"It is no problem." Damon untangled their hands and reached down to unbuckle her seatbelt. "The apartment is empty." He pushed the seatbelt away from her shoulder and hip and tugged his jacket closed around her naked torso. He tipped her chin with two fingers and met her questioning gaze with a steady one of his own. "It has been since February."

"Oh." What was he trying to tell her? Not wanting to read more into that statement than he intended, Elena let it go.

"Let's get you inside." Damon left the SUV. He grabbed his gym bag from the backseat before coming to her door. Before she could move, he had slipped one arm around her shoulders. In the next instant, he scooped her right up and out of the SUV.

Elena gripped two handfuls of his shirt. "What are you doing? I can walk!"

"I'm sure you can." He pushed the door closed with his foot. "But I'm not taking any chances."

She started to tell him that he was going to hurt his back carrying her and his gym bag but he moved effortlessly. When they reached the elevator, Elena could feel his hard, well-honed muscles rippling beneath her thighs and across her back as he shifted her in his arms. His hand dipped under the borrowed jacket she was wearing and into the pocket hidden away there. She tried not to think about the brush of his warm skin against hers as he retrieved his wallet and presented it to her.

"Can you open this and find the key card?"

"Sure." Elena took the wallet from him and pried it open. There weren't enough slots for all of the items he kept in there so it bulged in places. "You need a new wallet."

"I just bought that two months ago." He gestured with his chin toward the cards jammed in the slots. "It is the white one with the gold lettering. Yes. That one. Swipe it, please."

Seconds later, they were in the elevator and zooming up eleven floors. Damon stepped into a beautifully decorated hall and carried her to a door at the far end of the hall. "Will you grab the keys from my pants pocket?"

Elena swallowed nervously and carefully dipped his hand into the front pocket of his trousers. She refused to meet his heated gaze as she retrieved them and did her very best not to touch anything except for the cold metal and plastic. Though she had dated a lot of nice guys, she had never stuck her hand in one of their pockets or gotten that close to…

"You keep that up, and I'm going to make you buy me dinner."

Mortified by his teasing, Elena quickly retrieved the keys and studiously avoided his sinful grin. "Which one?"

"The silver key with the red dot on it." She held it up to be sure, and he confirmed it. "Yes."

After she unlocked and opened the door, Damon carried inside and slapped the light switch in the foyer. A warm light illuminated the entryway and part of the living area. Floor to ceiling windows lined the exterior wall of the unit. She suspected the downtown views would be breathtakingly perfect come morning.

"Sit still," he ordered as he placed her on the marble slab covering the oversized kitchen island. His gym bag was dropped on the floor, and he started rifling through the cabinets and refrigerator. He found ice, a bowl, a dish towel and a small first aid kit under the sink but he wasn't satisfied with that. He placed a call down to the building's concierge and gave him a short list of groceries he wanted delivered as quickly as possible.

Elena waited until Damon had returned the phone to its cradle on the counter before pointing out the obvious. "It is, like, one in the morning, Damon."

"And?" He turned on the faucet and wet one end of the dish towel.

Incredulous, she waved her hands. "And you are asking that poor guy to go buy groceries?"

"That is his job." Damon wrung out the fluffy cloth and brought an armload of supplies to the island. "This building has round-the-clock staff for a reason."

"Still…"

Damon moved to stand in front of Elena. For the first time ever, they were the same height. A small bruise had already formed from the contact his forehead had made with that man's nose. This close, Elena could see that his eyes were actually a mix of blue and grey. The fine lines around them were crinkled with the hint of a smile. She wanted to reach up and ran her fingers along them, to trace the line of his strong jaw to the barely visible cleft in his chin. "Will you feel better if I give him a big tip?

"Yes."

"Fine. That is settled." He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. Elena tried not to stare at his arms. Under this brighter light, the blood spatter on his shirt was clearly visible. Following her gaze, Damon frowned. "We have got to get rid of all this. Everything you are wearing tonight has to be destroyed. As soon as I'm done getting you cleaned up and in bed, I will take care of everything."

It was such a sordid, dirty thing but Elena understood he was just being practical. He seemed so calm about it though. "Have you done this a lot?"

To his credit, Damon didn't lie. "What you saw tonight? My father was a street soldier and an enforcer in the past. I did the same thing when I was a kid."

"Oh." Elena tried to wrap her head around the idea of Damon beating the crap out of people to make them pay protection money or to force them to toe the family line.

His peered down at me, his jaw tight and his eyes slightly narrowed. "Are you afraid of me now?"

"No!"

"You probably should be," Damon grumbled. "I'm not a very nice man, not when you get right down to it."

"I don't believe that."

He expelled a harsh breath. "Then you are more naïve than I ever imagined."

His remark pissed Elena right off. After everything she had been through tonight, she wasn't going to take that kind of crap from a friend. "Don't talk to me like that!"

Taken aback by her outburst, Damon dropped his gaze and seemed instantly chastised. He leaned forward and shocked Elena by pressing his forehead to hers. With that bruise there, it must have hurt him but he didn't flinch. "I'm sorry, Elena." He pulled back slowly. "That was a dick thing for me to say."

"Then why did you say it?"

"I don't know." He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "I could say that I'm tired but that is just an excuse. Maybe I said it because I know what a shit person I was years ago and what an incredibly good and kind person you are and I know that eventually I'm going to hurt or disappoint you."

The self-loathing filling his voice surprised. Gone was the powerful, confident man who ruled in business. Here was the man with the wounded soul who tried so hard to distance himself from feeling anything close to love. His insistence on keeping a mistress suddenly made sense to Elena. Damon didn't want to expose himself to anything that might make him vulnerable.

"Maybe you were a terrible person years ago, Damon, but you aren't that terrible person tonight." Elena reached for his closest hand. "You have never been anything but kind to me. Kind and generous and good. That is the man I know. That is the man I trust." She squeezed his fingers and smiled up at him. "That is the man who would die before he hurt me."

"I won't hurt you," Damon promised. "I could never hurt you like this." He brushed his hand along the bruise blossoming on her cheek. "But I will disappoint you."

"All friendships have disappointing moments, Damon. That is just part of the deal." Elena found herself leaning into his touch and wondered if it was simply the shock of the night causing her to seek out human contact or the feelings for this complicated man finally coming to a head. "Just be honest with me. Tell me the truth, Damon. Always."

Damon nodded stiffly and then carefully prodded the edges of the bruise forming on her cheek. "It is not broken but you are going to be swollen tomorrow."

"I have had worse," Elena muttered without thinking. Damon visibly stiffened at the comment. Was he remembering what she had confessed to him last Christmas?

"I still think you should tell me the names of your mother's old boyfriends so I can kick their asses for you."

Elena quirked a smile at that. "Don't tempt me."

Damon murmured something but she couldn't hear it.

"May I take this off?" He gestured to the jacket draped around her shoulders.

In any other setting, the question would have been followed by the promise of erotic possibilities. Right now, though, it was Damon's way of proving that he wasn't going to hurt or take advantage of her. "Yes."

He peeled the jacket off her bare shoulders and let it pool around her waist. The second Elena heard his sharp intake of breath, she knew that he had seen the bruises on her throat. Stepping forward, he insinuated his trim hips between her knees and gently clasped her chin in one big hand. He carefully tilted her face to the side and examined the marks that Kai's mean hand had left behind. Elena saw his expression and knew he was furious.

"Elena, did you lose consciousness when he choked you?" Damon's eyes were dark with worry and anger.

"No." Elena inhaled a shuddery breath when Damon's fingertips ghosted over the sore spots developing on her throat. "He didn't squeeze that hard. He…"

"He what?" Damon asked when her voice trailed off to nothing. "Tell me what happened, Elena." He cupped her face between his palms and brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. "You will feel better if you get it out."

Her eyes prickled with hot tears as she tearfully told everything. He didn't interrupt or comment as she described arriving at the Arena and the harrowing moments inside that office when Kai had tried to rape her. When she was finished, Damon wrapped his powerful arms around her and pulled her into a comforting, secure embrace. Elena closed her eyes and found comfort in the strength surrounding her.

"You are all right now." He rubbed her back with languid circles. "No one will ever touch you again, Elena. I swear it."

Elena didn't know how he was going to pull off that promise but if anyone could do it? Damon was that man.

A long time later, Damon finally unwound his arms. Wordlessly, he picked up the damp cloth and cleaned her face. He bundled up some ice and pressed the cold pack against her swollen cheek. "Hold this."

Elena held the ice pack in place while Damon tugged the jacket he had given her back up around my shoulders. He pulled it tightly closed in front before crouching down to dig through his gym bag. He retrieved a folded shirt and put it on the counter next to her.

"You can wear this after your shower. It is clean," he added with a smile.

"Thank you."

"Let's check out your arms, okay? They had you tied up so tight." Very gently, Damon grasped her right wrist and lifted her arm. He rotated her hand and checked her fingers before meticulously working his way to her shoulder. After she switched hands holding the ice pack, he repeated the process on her left arm. He asked her to take deep breaths and watched her face for any sign of pain. "How does your back feel?"

"Fine." Thinking of the old scars crisscrossing her back, Elena was glad there was no reason for him to investigate. If Damon had felt them earlier when he was hugging me, he hadn't mentioned it. After talking about what Kai had tried to do to me, she really didn't want to unearth old, buried history from my childhood.

"And here?" He touched her thighs. "Did you get kicked? Did you trip?"

"No." Elena tried to concentrate on her limbs instead of the unbelievable body heat that radiated from his larger frame or that incredible scent that followed him everywhere. "I might have bruised them a little when they made me kneel."

"I will put some antibiotic ointment in the bathroom. If you need it after your shower, use it."

"I will."

"Can you walk?"

Even though the prospect of having him carry her again sent a bright frisson of excitement through her body, she nodded. "I can walk. Just point me in the right direction."

Damon eased her off the kitchen island and gave her a short tour of the apartment. No longer dazed, Elena took in the sleek, modern furnishings and the art adorning the walls. The place was much bigger than she had realized with three bedrooms and two bathrooms plus a separate office and a generously sized balcony off the master suite.

But as she walked through the rooms with Damon at her side, she sensed that he spent very little time in this place. Though it was beautifully and professionally decorated, it wasn't a home. Eyeing the massive bed and the sumptuous linens, she couldn't help but wonder how many women had tumbled onto it with him.

Jealousy and sadness duelled inside Elena. The type of women who would be comfortable in a place like this were women she couldn't compete with in a million years. It was easy enough to imagine the richly dressed, ultra-classy women with perfect manners Damon chose to play the role of his mistress. They were the types of women who moved easily in the social circles he inhabited. They were the types of women who were confident and sexy and knew how to please a man.

 _And that isn't you,_ Elena thought sadly. _You will never be his type._

Damon stepped ahead of her and switched on the lights to the master bathroom. After placing the gym shirt on the counter, he moved back outside the door and waved her inside. "There are towels and travel-sized toiletries in the cabinet. I will be in the living room if you need me."

Grasping his jacket tightly to her nearly-naked body, Elena grew insanely aware of how close they were standing. "Okay."

"Bring your clothes to me when you are done. I will get rid of them." He started to back away but stopped. "Where are your keys?"

"To the house? In my purse. Why?"

"I will need you to give them to me so I can stop by your place to get your things."

The idea of Damon going through her bedroom and picking through her drawer of boring undies wasn't one that Elena relished. "I can pack my own things."

"That is not happening."

"But—"

"Elena, you aren't leaving this apartment until I have secured your safety. Whatever you need? It comes through me." Damon must have sensed that she wanted to argue with him because he quickly changed the subject. "Come find me when you are done."

Left alone in the master suite, Elena walked into the bathroom and closed the door. After stripping out of her clothes and his jacket, she stood in front of the marble vanity and stared at her reflection. Her face wasn't as badly bruised as she had feared it would be but her throat would bear Kai's marks for days.

She ran her fingers over the marred skin but it wasn't the phantom sensation of Kai's ugly hands that caused goose bumps to rise on her flesh. No, it was the memory of the way Damon's hands had felt on her. A part of her despaired at the notion he might not ever touch her like that again.

"So what happens now?" Her whispered question barely registered in her ears.

What would happen with Katherine? Would Kai's men come after her? What about those skinheads who had tied her up and planned to leave her beaten and bloodied in that parking lot as a message to her sister?

Her reflection didn't have the answers Elena wanted but she had no doubt Damon would. If she wanted to get out of this mess alive, she had to trust him.

 _He will take care of you,_ Elena said to herself.

 _If you let him…_


	6. Chapter 6

Damon closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the closed bedroom door. All that separated him from Elena, from the woman that had turned him inside out and left him craving the one thing he could never have, were two thin slabs of wood. Two simple, unlocked doors kept him from the woman he wanted more than anything in the whole wide world.

Leaving her alone in that bathroom had taken every ounce of his self-control. If it had been any other night, he would have stripped her bare and pulled her into a shower with him. He would have lathered up his palms and glided them over her supple curves and then carried her to bed. The very idea of learning every secret, ticklish place on her body with a swipe of his tongue left him lightheaded and aching.

But not tonight.

Tonight Elena had been through so much. She needed space to decompress. She needed to cleanse away the horror she had experienced. His only goal tonight was to make sure that Elena felt safe and secure. Whatever the cost, he would give that to her.

Damon pushed off the door and made his way to the office where he opened the safe hidden in the credenza and removed an envelope of cash. He tucked it into his back pocket, closed and locked the safe and left the office. Back in the kitchen, he washed his hands and treated the scrapes on his knuckles from that bastard's teeth. As he rubbed in the ointment, he thought of all the ways his actions tonight might play out. Marko wasn't stupid. He would try to leverage his threat against Elena to make a deal.

But Kai? Kai was the real problem. Newly anointed as the cartel's top man in Mystic Falls, he had a taste for power and the added pressure to prove his worth as a boss. He wanted respect, and if it got out that a tiny little thing like Elena had knocked him out while his entire crew of thugs and enforcers stood outside? He was going to be a laughingstock.

Damon placed both palms on the counter and leaned hard against it, dropping his head and closing his eyes as he tried to work out the angles. There was something else about Kai that was even more dangerous. He wanted Elena. He wanted her in the most primal way a man could want a woman.

 _She is mine. She belongs to me,_ he reminded himself.

Shaking his head, Damon let loose a dark laugh. Elena didn't belong to him. She wasn't his. She didn't belong to any man. She was her own person, independent and strong and ready to fight the world to find her own success.

But as much as he admired that tenacity, Damon knew better than anyone that it made her vulnerable. She was alone in this world. She had no one to back her up and give her support when she needed it most.

 _I could be that support. I could have her back. I could be the man who—_

"Damon?"

The sound of Elena's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She stood just inside the living area and clutched her dirty clothes to her chest in a neatly tied bundle. His jacket was draped across her shoulders and her shoes dangled from her fingers. The long damp strands of her dark brown hair had been combed back and left to air dry, but it was the sight of her in just his shirt that drove the air out of his lungs and made his blood run even hotter.

"Damon, your phone is ringing." Still standing there, Elena tilted her head to the side. "Are you going to answer it?"

He patted his pocket and felt the vibrating, chirping block hidden away there. He quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"We have a problem." His father Giuseppe didn't sound happy. "I need to see you. Now."

Damon casted a brief glance in her direction. He couldn't leave her here alone, not right now and not even for his old boss. "I can't get away from here."

Giuseppe sighed. "I will come to you."

"I'm at the other place."

"Yeah. I figured." He paused. "Do you need anything?"

"Maid service would be nice." He thought of the evidence that needed to be destroyed. The services of a cleaner would come in handy right now.

"Our maid is out on sick leave, but I will put in a call with the company."

The line went dead, and Damon pocketed his phone. Getting into an argument with his father was the last thing he wanted to do tonight, but it was better to just get the ass chewing over with, pay whatever fee the mafia family demanded and move forward.

"Is everything okay?"

Elena's anxious expression spurred him into action. He walked around the long kitchen island separating them and took the bundle of clothing and shoes from her arms. When they were out of the way on the counter, he placed his hands on her shoulders. She had asked him for honesty, and he was going to give it to her.

"My father is coming over. Do I need to tell you what that means?"

Her eyes widened, and her lower lip actually wobbled. On the verge of tears, she asked, "Is he going to kill me?"

"What? God no!" Damon hauled her into his arms and crushed her tight to his chest. Dipping his head, he touched his cheek to the unbruised side of her face. The mere mention of his father had scared her so much she was shaking. "I told you, Elena. No one is going to hurt you."

Elena tried to pull back so he let her. It wasn't until that moment that he realized she had grabbed hold of him in her fear. She still gripped his shirt on either side of his hips as she gazed up at him with watery eyes. "But he used to be a mob boss."

"Yes, he was." There was no point in denying what she knew. "But he is my father," he emphasized. "My father belonged to the mafia family. Way back. If the mafia family can't provide the coverage we need, there are other men who will for the right price."

Elena slowly released her hold on him but she didn't attempt to step out of his loose embrace. "What if the price is too high?"

Didn't she understand? Leaning down, Damon kissed the top of her head. He allowed his lips to linger there for a moment longer than necessary. "There is no price too high, not for you."

"Damon," she breathed his name, and his control wavered. Maybe one little kiss wouldn't hurt…

A knock at the door startled them both out of that unexpected moment of romantic tension.

"It is probably just Carlos," he murmured. "The concierge."

"Oh. Um." Elena glanced around nervously. "I will go hide in the bedroom."

Before Damon could ask her why she thought she needed to hide, she was already scampering away like a little rabbit. It occurred to him as he tucked away the bloody clothes in a cabinet and headed for the door that she might be embarrassed to be caught wearing only his shirt. Her sense of modesty amused him.

A quick peek through the peephole confirmed his suspicions. As he let Carlos inside, Damon felt uncomfortably prepared for an ambush or a fight. _I need to start carrying a piece again_ , he thought.

After the groceries were stowed on the counter, he walked Carlos back to the door and handed him the envelope of cash. "No one comes up to the eleventh floor without my approval. I want it locked down. Understand?"

Carlos slipped the envelope inside his suit jacket. "As you wish, Mr Salvatore."

Owning every unit on the floor and keeping them all empty save for this one had its perks. Chief among them the fact that Carlos and his friend in the maintenance department could shut down elevator access to the floor. It wasn't a perfect solution for keeping Elena safe but it was the best option he had right now.

"I'm expecting a visitor soon. He will come through the trade entrance. Make sure he gets up as quickly as possible and without being seen."

"Done." Carlos left the apartment, and Damon locked the door behind him.

When he made it back to the kitchen, he found Elena putting away the groceries. It was a domestic vision that rattled him. For a moment, he could almost believe they were like any other couple. There she was with her wet hair, wearing his shirt and putting away groceries as if this were something they did every night. It was such a simple thing to witness, but hell. It made him want something simple and normal and real.

"Do you want some coffee? I could make you something to eat," Elena offered.

"Sit." Damon pointed to one of the tall leather barstools on the other side of the island. "You fed me once. Now I will make you something to eat." He caught her disbelieving smile as she slid onto a seat. "What?"

"I just never figured you for the cooking type."

"And how do you think I feed myself?"

"Takeout? Restaurants?"

He had to give her that one. "All right. Most days, yes. But I do know how to cook eggs. You will see."

Before he started on their eggs and toast, he poured a glass of orange juice for her. "Drink this."

Elena dutifully sipped the cold liquid. When she licked her upper lip, he had to avert his eyes and suppress a needful groan. Did she have any idea how damned alluring she was? If she did, she played the game superbly and better than any woman he had ever known. But he sincerely doubted that was the case.

Damon had just finished plating their scrambled eggs and toast when a knock interrupted his work. He thrust a fork into her hand. "Eat."

Elena accepted the fork but her scared gaze darted toward the doorway. While he understood her fear of Giuseppe, it was misplaced. His father was a hard man, ruthless when necessary and not afraid to get his hands dirty, but he never hurt women. In some ways, he was the dark champion of the innocent.

Damon smiled encouragingly and gently pushed her hand toward the plate. "Eat."

Elena took a small bite. Satisfied that she was going to get some food into her stomach, he left the kitchen and answered the door. Instead of his customary bespoke suit, Giuseppe wore jeans and a black hoodie that obscured most of his face, but those leather boots gave him away. Damon stepped aside and gestured for his father to enter.

Once inside, Giuseppe lowered his hood. His green-eyed glare warned Damon to tread carefully. "Care to explain what the hell was going on?"

To say his father was unhappy was an understatement. Giuseppe had tried so hard to create a new, clean life for himself. Dragging him out of bed and entangling him in this mess? Nightmare.

"If I could have avoided this—"

"You are not a street soldier anymore," Giuseppe hissed. "If you want to make a move, you clear this shit with me first." His father stepped forward and invaded his personal space. "I have tried so damn hard to create a new life for us, Damon."

Guilt soured Damon's stomach as he considered the impossible position he had put Giuseppe in tonight. "Dad—"

"Where is she?" Giuseppe turned his back and started toward the kitchen. "What is this one's name? Treasure? Satin? Dynasty?"

It was a mean barb that hit its mark. His preference for dancing girls was part of the underworld legend. "Her name is Elena. She cleans my office. Part-time," Damon clarified. "She is an entrepreneur with a college degree."

Giuseppe stopped and turned. His discerning gaze made Damon uncomfortable. The man had a gift for seeing right through people. What was he seeing now?

As if trying to figure out a puzzle, Giuseppe asked, "Are you serious about her? Because if you are, I need to know now."

"I'm serious about her." Whether or not Elena was serious about him remained to be seen.

"You should have told me about this woman when things got serious. I should have been made aware of her connections so I had a complete picture of our family's underworld ties." Giuseppe exhaled a long breath. "You won't get out of this cheaply, not after you put three of Marko's men in the hospital."

"I know," Damon gravely answered. "I know."

Giuseppe nodded. "So long as you know…"

Damon trailed Giuseppe into the kitchen where Elena anxiously stabbed her fork into the small mound of scrambled eggs left on her plate. Half of her toast had been eaten and her glass of juice was empty. Glad that she had gotten something in her belly, he flashed her a reassuring smile.

Without a word of introduction, Giuseppe walked right up to Elena and carefully clasped her chin. He gently turned her face left and then right before tilting her head back to get a better look at the fingertip bruises on her neck. The marks had really blossomed now and provided a clear picture of what had happened to her earlier in the night.

The tic in Giuseppe's jaw eased the tension in Damon's chest. He trusted his father to be fair with Elena, but after seeing her battered face, his father would make sure she was protected. Even it meant dealing with the mafia family again.

Giuseppe gave Elena's shoulder a squeeze and then stepped back. Her grip on the fork loosened, and she visibly relaxed. Hoping to set her at ease, Damon traded her empty glass of juice for the full, untouched glass sitting next to his plate. She took the juice with a thankful smile and sipped it.

"Elena, this is my father, Giuseppe Salvatore."

Elena wrapped both hands around the glass. "Hello."

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Elena. So long as you are honest with me," Giuseppe added as he slid onto the closest barstool. "I don't tolerate lying."

"I understand," she said softly.

"Good." He tapped the countertop with tattooed fingers. "Do you know why I am here?"

Damon made Giuseppe a cup of tea while Elena cooperated with this mini-interrogation. It kept his hands busy, and his stress levels in check while he waited to see how this would play out.

"You are here because my sister and her boyfriend did something really stupid, and now we are all in trouble." She swallowed nervously. "You are here because Kai tried to rape me and I nearly killed him with a paperweight."

That last piece of information caused Giuseppe's eyes to widen. His father's irritated glare landed on Damon. "What the hell is this?"

Surprised his father hadn't heard that piece of information yet, Damon said, "I thought you must have known."

"No, I didn't. I thought the damage to her face was caused by Marko's men."

"No, it was Kai."

"That little prick," Giuseppe swore nastily. He turned his attention back to Elena. "Tell me what happened with Kai."

Elena cleared her throat. "I went to the Arena to find my sister, to warn her after those awful men trashed my car. When I got there, Kai was waiting. He took me into an office, and he tried to…" Still traumatized, she lowered her gaze. "He wanted me to pay for my life and for my sister's life with my body. He hurt me…so I hurt him." She ran her thumbs up and down the glass. "And then I ran."

Giuseppe placed a cautious hand on her arm. Elena's gaze flicked to his face. "You were defending yourself. Whatever happened in that room, whatever you did to get out of there, it was the right thing. Do not ever apologize for protecting yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Taking back his hand, Giuseppe said, "Considering I haven't heard this story yet, it is clear Kai wants it quiet. I'm sure he will put a spin on it. Whatever story hits the streets will be one that makes him into a hero or a martyr. If your name isn't mentioned, then keep your mouth shut about your involvement, Elena. If he can save face, it may save your life."

"Duly noted," she whispered.

"Now tell me about this identify theft scam your sister and that street slinger were running."

"What?" Elena couldn't fake that confused expression. "What identify theft scam?"

"Why do you think Marko and his men want your sister?"

"I don't know. I just sort of assumed this was another one of her dumb counterfeit scams. You know, like purses and DVDs. She and Mason got into a scrape earlier this year when they were selling that stuff in someone else's territory."

"This isn't about territory. It is not about counterfeit goods. It is about your sister and Mason stealing financial information so they can sell it on the black market."

Damon placed the cup of tea in front of Giuseppe and offered him milk and sugar. Elena seemed to be trying to wrap her head around this new revelation.

"Look, I love my sister, and she is everything to me, but she is not smart enough to run a scam like that. Okay? She is not detail-oriented. She never follows through on anything. She can barely work her freaking iPhone! There is no way she did this."

Giuseppe stirred his tea. "Mason outsourced the tech side. All your sister had to do was plug in a little flash drive and hit a couple of keys. She used her access to all those offices she cleaned to infect as many networks as possible. The information they compiled? It is worth millions and millions of dollars on the black market. Word on the street is that they have a buyer ready and waiting."

Damon filed away that piece of information. There weren't many buyers with that kind of cash on hand. He needed to nail down the buyer and fast.

"Your sister and Mason have some information in their possession that is extremely sensitive. Marko wants it back. He is not going to stop until he gets it." Giuseppe put down his spoon. "Do you understand what that means, Elena?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Marko and the mafia family reached a compromise on this matter. The terms were all worked out very neatly, and I raised no objection because I had no reason to interfere in business that didn't concern me. Had I known that you belonged to Damon, I would have made sure you were protected from this." He gestured to her bruises. "Now that I understand the situation more clearly, I will make sure that you can walk the streets of Mystic Falls safely."

When Giuseppe levelled a serious stare in his direction, Damon didn't have to ask what his father was thinking. Damon was already cataloguing the assets he controlled. There wasn't a damn thing he owned that he wouldn't gladly give away to ensure Elena would reach old age.

"Mr Salvatore?" Elena asked in a soft voice.

"Yes?"

"What is going to happen to my sister?"

Giuseppe took a slow sip of his tea, lowered his cup and met her tearful gaze with that cold, distant stare he had perfected. "You will find it easier to move on with your life if you learn to stop asking questions that have answers you don't want to hear."

Elena's lip trembled pitifully, and she blinked rapidly. She couldn't manage an answer, only a shaky nod.

Damon hated his father for being so callous with her. Aching for Elena as she realized that her sister was marked for death, he crossed the small distance between them and stood behind her. He placed a hand on her hip and another on her shoulder. He needed her to know that she wasn't alone. Whatever happened, he would help her through this.

"Do you know where your sister is? Where she would hide?" Giuseppe might have felt some compassion for Elena but he wasn't going to let it get in the way of business. "The sooner this matter is cleared up, the better for everyone."

"I don't know where she is. Really," Elena insisted. "We had one short phone conversation earlier tonight. Kai said Katherine and Mason had run off and disappeared."

Giuseppe drained the last of his tea. "When your sister contacts you, I need to know about it. You will tell Damon, and he will take care of it."

Elena agreed sadly. "Okay."

Giuseppe stood up and carried his empty cup and spoon to the sink. "A few days hiding out here is your best option."

Damon patted her hip before following his father to the door.

"You are going to need someone to sit on her while you are at work." Giuseppe stated the obvious. "I have the perfect man."

"I bet you do," Damon grumbled. "Which soldier? Danny? Wes?"

"Enzo."

"I don't know him."

"He is a new guy, according to the family. The family is transferring in some new blood. Loyal blood," he added. "The family needs to grow but I need men with experience. He is a good enforcer. He has done bodyguard work. I trust him."

Because his father trusted him, Damon was expected to do the same. "I will give him a try, but if he makes Elena uncomfortable…"

"You can throw him back to me," Giuseppe promised.

"Fine."

"He will be up in a few minutes. I brought him with me."

Damon frowned. "I see."

"And he is going to need a salary."

Damon snorted roughly. "Why do I get the feeling you had this planned even before this mess with Elena happened?"

"Because I did and the family did," Giuseppe answered honestly. "Our companies are clean. We have plenty of job openings for a man like Enzo. Just give him a job title and put him on your payroll."

"It is not that easy, and you know it. I hate it when the family does this. We have worked hard to keep the businesses legit."

"And you have those legit businesses because the family gave us the first dealership," Giuseppe reminded him.

"I haven't forgotten."

Giuseppe glanced away and grimaced. "I know I sound terrible when I say shit like that."

"I screwed things up first."

Giuseppe made a throaty humming sound before running his fingers through his hair as if exasperated with himself. "You are my son. You gave years to the family, and you helped the family take the city one street at a time. You bled for the family. Everything you have built for our Salvatore family so far? You earned that through hard work, and it is bullshit for me to simply assume you will do what I tell you, even when it puts your legitimate holdings at risk."

"I am grateful for every opportunity you gave me. I'm your son and I won't let you down." Accepting Giuseppe's apology, he decided, "I will hire Enzo because I need him."

"Thank you. Now, listen, I will inform the family and set up a meeting with Marko. It shouldn't be too difficult to iron out your issues with him. He will want payments for the soldiers you have put out of commission." Giuseppe glanced back towards the kitchen. "What is the story between Elena and Kai?"

"He has wanted her for a long time, but she doesn't want him."

"Were they involved?"

"From what I know of their history, she has done everything possible to stay away from him. She is not like her sister. She doesn't have a taste for the gangster life."

"Smart girl." Giuseppe unlocked the door. "I will be in touch soon. Whatever evidence you have can be dropped off at the new warehouse. Wes is waiting for you. He will ride escort for any other business you need to handle tonight."

"I have to go by Elena's place to get some things she needs."

"Where does she live?"

"In one of Spider's parks."

Giuseppe's eyes widened fractionally. Was his father trying to work out why Elena was still living on her own? It wasn't Damon's usual arrangement with the women in his life. He wasn't like his father where his parents had never shared a bed or were alone until the night after they were married.

It was too old-fashioned for Damon's tastes, but he understood why it had to be that way for his parents. Lillian Salvatore was known for her religious devotion and her conservative values, and because of her relationship with Giuseppe, she would have been held to a higher standard. Giuseppe simply couldn't have a wife with a complicated history of lovers. His position within the family wouldn't allow it.

The thought of lovers and histories unsettled Damon. Had Elena known true love? Was there a man out there somewhere who still owned her heart? Was he competing for her affection against ghosts he could never best? As beautiful and interesting and intelligent as she was, Elena must have had no problem attracting good men. _Better men than me_ , he thought crossly.

"I will talk to Spider and square things. We were friends back when I handled all the gun runs. I assume our friendship still stands."

"I think it does."

"Good. That will be useful. There is one more thing."

"What?"

"I want the balance of Wes' debt to you wiped. I have already informed the family."

"Done." With a sigh, Damon said, "Dad, this wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this."

Giuseppe actually grinned. "You? Me? Two gangs who want to take us out? It is like old times, huh?"

"Yeah," Damon replied with a wry smile. "Except this time we are too old for this shit and have too much on the line to lose."

Giuseppe's gaze softened. "Sometimes too much to lose gives us a better reason to fight." He angled his head toward the kitchen. "I like her. She reminds me of your mother."

Damon figured that was the highest compliment his father could pay.

"She is a good choice. She suits you." Giuseppe whacked his back with a series of hard claps. "But, son, get her the hell out of this apartment. This is the place you have sex with your strippers. Your future wife shouldn't have stepped foot in this apartment."

The comment was a stark reminder that his father was one of those old-school gangsters who still had very black and white ideas. There were women you had sex with, and there were women you married. Period. Full stop. The two pools were never supposed to overlap.

Giuseppe opened the door and stepped into the hall. He adjusted his hood to make sure his face was covered. Damon waited until his father disappeared from view to step back into the apartment and lock the door.

When he returned to the kitchen, he found Elena slumped forward, her shoulders rounded with defeat, as she sobbed helplessly. The heartbroken weeping cut him deeply. Moved by the sadness engulfing her, he quickly ate up the floor with long strides.

Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off the chair and onto the counter. He tucked her wet cheek against his shirt and combed his fingers through her damp hair. She clung to his shoulders and sobbed.

"It is okay." Kissing the top of her head, Damon closed his eyes. He wasn't sure what she needed or how to help her. Nothing he could say would make any of this easier. "Elena, it is all right. It is okay."

"It is not okay. God, I'm so sorry," Elena cried. "I'm so sorry for getting you in trouble and dragging you into this. I shouldn't have—"

"Hush," he whispered gently. "Don't apologize to me about this. We are fine."

Elena exhaled a shuddery breath and burrowed in closer. The move sent his heartbeat into overdrive. She needed love and comfort tonight. It would be so easy to seduce her but he refused to take the choice from her. Elena's life was unravelling, and right now, she needed to have control over the most important decisions.

The apartment phone rang. With an irritated sigh, Damon kissed Elena's temple and left her on the counter so he could answer it. "Yes?"

"Sir, there is a man in the lobby who says he is one of your guests. His name is Enzo."

"Send him up, Carlos."

"Yes, sir."

The call finished, Damon turned back to find Elena sitting there with her hands clamped between her knees. He plucked a napkin from a drawer and used it to dab away the shiny streaks on her face. "No more crying tonight."

Elena sniffled and nodded meekly. "All right."

He placed the napkin on the counter and then cupped the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair. With every intimate touch she allowed, his craving for her increased in potency. Much more of this and he was going to spontaneously combust.

"A friend of mine is going to watch you while I go take care of some things."

"A friend?"

"His name is Enzo. He is trusted and safe, but I know you have been through hell tonight so I will make sure he gives you some space." Wanting her to feel comfortable, Damon picked up his bag and dug through it until he found the red hooded sweatshirt. "Here. Put this on. This is big enough and it will reach your knees."

"Thank you." Elena lifted her arms and let him glide it into place over her head. He reached into the open neck and pulled free her hair. The floral scent of the shampoo from the toiletry basket wafted from her hair, and it momentarily confused him. She was supposed to smell of beaches and sunshine, not generic flowers.

A knock at the door announced Enzo's arrival. The man he let into the apartment looked like a street brawler with his stocky build. He had the coldest grey eyes Damon had ever seen. There were no tattoos on his fingers or hands.

"Damon Salvatore," Enzo greeted respectfully.

Damon shook the street soldier's hand but didn't let go immediately. He held tight and tugged the man off-balance. "My father vouches for you, but I don't know you. So here is the deal. If I come back here and Elena is upset or you have done anything that makes her uncomfortable, I start breaking fingers. When I'm done with fingers, I move to bigger bones. Understand?"

"Perfectly," Enzo assured him. "I'm not here to cause problems. I'm here to work. I'm here to earn my place. You tell me what you want—and it is done. No questions asked."

Thinking of how much Enzo reminded him of his younger days, Damon let go of the street soldier's hand. He had been hungry to prove himself once. Hungry men were loyal men, and Damon knew exactly how to ensure Enzo did what was necessary to keep Elena safe. "If you keep her happy and out of trouble, I will pay you a bonus at the end of each day. Cash," he clarified. "Under the table and off the books."

"Deal." Enzo glanced around the luxurious apartment. "The boss didn't mention what sort of arrangement you have with your…mistress."

"You don't need to worry about the arrangement I have with Elena. You just need to worry about how you will keep her safe when I'm not here."

Enzo held up a hand. "Hey, I'm not trying to get into your business. I just wanted to know if I need to worry about being ambushed by a pissed off wife or another girlfriend."

Wondering what sort of men Enzo had worked for way back, Damon shook his head. "There is no one else. There is only Elena."

"Well that makes this job a hell of a lot easier. I know how to deal with hostile crews and hit squads but wives and girlfriends?" Enzo whistled low. "That shit gets real fast."

Damon could only imagine. He gestured for Enzo to follow him into the apartment. Elena stood next to the kitchen island and warily eyed the new face trailing him. He didn't blame her. She had probably had quite enough of big, harsh and violent men for one night. She had probably had enough of big, harsh and violent men for a lifetime.

"Elena, this is Enzo. He is going to stay here while I take care of some things."

"Hello." She greeted Enzo with a tremulous smile.

Enzo stopped at the other end of the granite slab and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Hi."

Damon grasped Elena's hand and led her into the living area. "Would you like to go to bed or—"

"I can't sleep," she hastily interjected. "I just can't."

"That is all right." Damon rubbed her shoulder and guided her into the corner seat of the large sofa. The stone-coloured cashmere throw artfully draped over the back caught his eye. He tugged it free and tucked it around Elena's legs and lap so she would stay warm.

"Damon," she said in an almost pleading tone while clutching his hand. "Please be careful."

Her fear and concern for his safety detonated a wild burst of emotion in his chest. Bending down, Damon pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry about me. I will be fine." He lowered his mouth until his lips were touching the shell of her ear. "They think we have been involved for a long time, and it is best if you play along with that."

Elena turned towards him, seeking out his gaze with one of understanding. She knew the stakes here. She wouldn't do anything to put either of them at risk. Embracing the role he had foisted upon her, she leaned over and kissed him properly. The shock of her soft, warm lips upon his nearly took him out at the damned knees. It was an innocent kiss, the type he had first tried on a girl when he was eleven or twelve, but this one made is heart race and his lungs ache.

Unable to help himself, Damon brushed loose strands of hair behind her ear and cupped the back of her head, holding her in place a moment longer just so he could enjoy her mouth on his. When he found the strength to break the kiss, it was all he could do to straighten up and walk away from her.

After ducking into the master bedroom to grab the emergency set of clothing he kept stowed there, he gathered up their bloody clothes and stuffed them in his gym bag. Enzo followed him to the door. "She is in good hands."

"See that those good hands of yours stay away from her, yeah?" Damon warned before shutting the door. He waited to hear the lock engage and went straight to the elevator. After punching the button for the parking garage level, he leaned back against the wall of the box and closed his eyes. He lifted his hand to his mouth and traced his lips. He felt like an overeager teenager as he relieved that simple kiss. With one unexpected and wholly innocent move, Elena had shattered him.

When he stepped out into the garage, he inhaled a deep, invigorating lungful of cold air. It was going to be a hell of a long and dangerous night, but he had a damn good reason to get back here as quickly and as safely possible curled up in the corner of his couch.


	7. Chapter 7

She kissed him.

She kissed Damon.

What the hell was she thinking?

What was he thinking now?

Elena's lips were still warm from the contact of his hard, sinful mouth. All she could think about was when she might have the chance to kiss him again.

"Do you want some coffee or tea?"

She popped up a little higher so she could see over the top of the lush, comfy sofa. Enzo banged around in the kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets as he surveyed the food situation.

Not quite as tall as Damon but heavier and with a more solid build, he had shucked his leather jacket. The navy blue polo he wore was stretched tight across his shoulders.

"How about some hot cocoa?" He held up two of the small cups that fit into the coffee maker reservoir. "There aren't any marshmallows but I bet I i's sweet."

The idea that this intimidating gangster was going to make her hot cocoa brought a surprised smile to her face. "That sounds nice."

"All right." Enzo turned back toward the coffee maker, and Elena reached for the television remote on the glass coffee table. She clicked through the channels in search of something mindless to watch. Eventually she found re-runs of one of those reality cooking shows to keep them entertained.

"What are you watching?" Enzo handed her a cup wrapped in a cloth napkin. "Careful," he warned. "It is really hot."

Elena blew across the top of the steaming liquid, creating little ripples in the chocolate drink. "Some reality show about bankrupt restaurants."

"Have you ever worked in a restaurant?" He went back to the kitchen and returned to the living room with a cup of coffee and Damon's abandoned plate of cold eggs and toast.

"I waited tables and washed dishes in a couple of different places when I was in high school, but eventually, I switched to cleaning offices and homes. What about you?"

"I was a dishwasher and did some cooking before I shifted to this line of work." Enzo placed his food on the coffee table and dragged the table closer to the sofa. After plopping down on the opposite end, he dug into the cold eggs and toast.

"And what exactly is this line of work?" Elena took a tiny sip of the hot cocoa and waited for him to answer.

Enzo shot her a funny look. "I would have a thought a woman in your position would know not to ask questions like that."

"A woman in my position? And what the hell does that mean?"

"You know what it means." He gestured around the apartment with the half-eaten slice of toast. "It means that the trade-off for all this is that you don't ask questions about where the money comes from. This is a nice step up for you." He took another bite of his toast. "You went from cleaning toilets to playing private maid for a man like Damon. Don't mess that up by asking about things that are none of your business."

Elena couldn't decide if she was more angry or humiliated by the way he had spoken to her. "Maybe you should take some of your advice and mind your business. I sure hope you didn't have plans for that bonus Damon promised you."

Frozen like a deer in headlights, Enzo had that piece of toast clamped between his teeth as he watched her.

"Yeah. That's right. I heard you two talking back there. And let me tell you something, Enzo. The second Damon finds out you just spoke to me like that? He is going to kick your ass all the way out the door and down eleven flights of stairs."

Because he would. One thing this wild and crazy night had taught Elena was that Damon wasn't going to let anyone treat her badly. He wouldn't stand for it—and she wasn't going to stand for it either.

Enzo put down his toast and swallowed loudly. "I'm sorry, Elena. You are right. I should mind my own business."

"Your damn right you should," Elena muttered grumpily. "For your information, I have never taken a penny from Damon. I work hard. I have a college degree. I'm saving to start my own business. Everything that I own is mine."

"I didn't mean to upset you. I can see that I did, but that wasn't my intention." He drank some coffee and shook his head. "I was just trying to warn you, to remind you that asking questions about men like me and men with a history like Damon's can get you in a lot of trouble."

"I'm not stupid, Enzo. I know that."

"So why did you ask about my line of work?"

"Because I'm curious? Because I was trying to be nice? There were other ways to answer that question without being a jerk, you know?"

"Yeah. I know," Enzo glumly replied. "Maybe I'm just an asshole. Did you think about that?"

"You made me hot cocoa. An asshole wouldn't have done that."

He actually smiled. "I really am sorry for the way I behaved."

Elena wiggled back into the corner of the sofa and curled her knees up tight. "I really am sorry that you aren't getting your bonus for tonight."

Enzo laughed and picked up the plate of cold eggs. "That is fair." He leaned back and ate quietly while Elena tried to figure out what was happening on the television screen. During a commercial, he said, "My mum and I came to the States when I was four. I was a good kid. I stayed out of trouble. I went to school. Hell, I even played football and ran track. I thought I would go to college and be a stock broker or something like that."

"So how does a good kid with aspirations for the American Dream end up working for someone like Giuseppe?"

Enzo rubbed his fingers together in a universal symbol I recognized. "Money."

"Gambling?" she asked, thinking of all the families in her neighbourhood who had been ruined by gambling debts and playing the lottery.

"No. Much worse." He put down the empty plate and picked up his coffee cup. "Medical debt." He took a drink and seemed almost hesitant to delve into memories that I suspected were painful and sad. "Mum had cancer. Ovarian," he said, "but by the time they caught it, she was all eaten up inside. The treatment was expensive, and she didn't have health insurance. A friend of mine? His uncle was the boss back home so I asked him for work, and nine years later, here I am."

"Here you are," Elena murmured. "What are you? Twenty-six?"

"Twenty-nine." He took a long drink of coffee. "And before you ask…No, my mother didn't survive. She died but she died in the best hospice program available. She was at home, and she was comfortable and she didn't have to worry about anything."

"She worried about you," Elena said without thinking.

Enzo glanced at her and smiled sadly. "That's what mamas do. I bet your mother is up right now, pacing her house and wondering what is happening to you and your sister."

"I bet she is not." Bitterness crept into Elena's voice. "Mum bailed when we were younger. She just walked right out of the house and never came back."

For a man who seemed so hard and wise, Enzo looked shocked by the discovery that Elena's mother had abandoned her. "Where is she now?"

Elena shrugged and pretended as if she didn't care. "No idea."

"Why did she leave?"

She ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "My mother was a waitress in Mystic Falls. I suspect she had slept with just about every male customer who came along. None of them stayed around long enough to marry her. She got pregnant and had Katherine. She still didn't give up on finding a man to marry her. Then my father came along and they got married. But he died not long after that. I think maybe she was just tired of being a parent. I think maybe she just wanted out."

"Like your sister?" he asked quietly.

Elena's head snapped up at that. "What do you mean?"

His shoulders inched higher in a defensive shrug. "I heard some things tonight about your sister."

"What sort of things?"

"She strikes me as the type of woman who wants things she hasn't earned. She craves the kind of life other people have but she isn't willing to work for it. She wants money and nice things, designer handbags and jewellery and five-hundred-dollar shoes." He drained his cup and set it aside. "She put her baby sister's life at risk for some money. She decided that your life was worth less than whatever some guy out of Tirana was willing to pay for a block of stolen financial information."

The blunt description of the situation made Elena's chest ache. Was that true? Had Katherine ever framed the situation in that way or had she just blithely gone along with Mason's scheme? Had she been so blinded by dollar signs and the promise of riches that she hadn't even considered what would happen if her scam was uncovered?

"Elena?" Enzo touched her arm and startled her.

"Don't touch me!" Gasping and in a blind panic, Elena practically flew off the couch, spilling what was left of her hot cocoa all over the blanket. Her feet got tangled up in the blanket, and she tumbled forward. Enzo caught her and settled her back on the couch.

"Are you okay?" He quickly took his hands away from her and stood up straight, putting space between them and holding both his hands up. "Shit! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sorry," Elena apologized in a breathless rush. "It has been a long night for me. I'm still on edge."

"Don't apologize. This is all on me." He cautiously pulled the wet, stained blanket away from her. "Let me put this in the laundry, okay? We will find you another blanket."

"Don't put that in the washing machine," she warned, thinking of how lovely and soft the cashmere was against her skin. "It has to be hand-washed with special soap, rolled in a towel to squeeze out the water and then left to air dry."

Enzo blinked. "Yeah, so I'm just going to put this in the laundry room for the housekeeper to handle. I will be right back."

Housekeeper? Elena wanted to laugh at the idea that she had a housekeeper to tackle chores but then she remembered that Damon most certainly did have a full staff at his home. She assumed his mistresses all benefited from the perks of his wealth. As spotless as this apartment was, it was clear that someone was maintaining the space even when unoccupied.

"Here," Enzo said as he unfurled a light, fluffy comforter in the palest grey. "I found this in one of the bedrooms."

"Thanks." Elena tucked it in tight and got comfortable again.

"How about we agree that we don't talk about family any more tonight?" Enzo dropped down on his end of the sofa again. "You and I have enough baggage to sink a ship. Let's just find something really stupid to watch and hang out, okay?"

"I like that idea." She tossed the remote at him. "Your choice this time."

Enzo flicked through the channels until he landed on the one of those shows about repo men. "Is this okay?"

"It is fine."

He toed off his sneakers and got comfortable, propping his feet on the coffee table. Elena let it slide because she had a feeling he was just as tired as she was. Snuggled under the blanket, she thought it would be easy to fall asleep but she kept thinking about Katherine and Damon.

Even though her sister had put her in extreme danger, Elena prayed that she had found somewhere safe to hide. She also prayed that Mason would finally do something smart and get her out of town. They needed to run fast and far and never look back. The list of men who wanted to hurt them was long and growing.

And Damon? She prayed he would come back safe and unharmed. If he got hurt protecting her, she would never forgive herself for drawing him into this stupid, crazy mess.

"Stop worrying," Enzo chided. "You are going to wear a hole in that blanket if you keep rubbing it between your fingers."

Not even realizing she was fidgeting, Elena looked down to find the blanket clamped between her thumb and forefinger. "I can't help it."

"The Salvatore family is a legend in the underworld. Daman has survived shit I can't even fathom, okay? What he is facing tonight? It is nothing."

Enzo's reply didn't comfort Elena. If anything, it awakened an insatiable curiosity. Earlier this evening, Damon had given her a glimpse of his history by explaining his scar. She had got much more up-close-and-personal view of his history when he had rescued her. Now she wanted to know all the dark, dangerous and difficult things that had shaped Damon Salvatore into the man he was today.

"You picked a good man, Elena." Enzo folded his arms behind his head. "He will give you a good life if you can just figure out how to keep him happy."

If only it was that simple…

x x x

"Is that it?" Wes asked as he stuffed the blood stained clothing and leather shoes into an industrial-sized furnace.

"Yes." Damon rolled his shoulders and straightened the collar on the clean suit he now wore. He grimaced at the sight of his favourite Armani lace-ups surrounded by flames. He eyed the sputtering furnace with concern. "Where the hell did you find this thing?"

The great big beast of an incinerator belched like an angry dragon as Wes tapped at the dials and locked the door. "I picked it up in Mexico. It belonged to some medical waste disposal company that went bankrupt."

Picked it up in Mexico? Damon shuddered to think what sort of ghoul had sold this terrifying piece of machinery. He doubted very much that it had ever been used for legitimate purposes. More likely, it had come out of some cartel hell hole. If it had been in cartel hands, there was no telling what, exactly, had been incinerated inside the thing.

"Where are we headed next?" Wes asked as he strode to a sink in the eerily lit warehouse and scrubbed his hands clean.

"To Elena's home," he said, waiting for Wes to dry his hands. He eyed the snarling furnace. "Are you just going to leave that thing on?"

"It runs on a cycle." Wes shrugged into his leather jacket. "Trust me. I have spent a lot of time with this horrible thing over the last few months. It is old and cranky, but it is dependable."

Damon decided he didn't want to know what other terrible things Wes had destroyed in that furiously hot furnace. Instead, he headed for his SUV and told Wes to follow him. The drive to Elena's place was uneventful. The silent night and easy traffic gave him too much time to think.

When they reached the mobile home park, the place was unnaturally quiet and dark. Damon didn't like it. Teeth on edge and fingertips buzzing, he drove slowly through the narrow streets and diverted his hawk-like gaze left and right, scanning for any signs of trouble. He passed all of the larger double wides before reaching the streets packed with single wide trailers, most in serious states of disrepair, all crammed together with tiny strips of brown grass between them.

He didn't pull into Elena's driveway. Wanting to be able to leave quickly, he parked parallel to the broken sidewalk and killed the engine and lights. Wes crept along behind him and found a spot to park on the opposite side of the street. The street soldier didn't get out of his car. He kept his engine idling but cut his lights. He probably had a gun on his lap and another close at hand.

Damon reached into the backseat for Elena's purse and dropped it onto the console. He felt uncomfortable going through her personal things and found her keys quickly. Holding the small set in his hand, he traced her stamped initials on the small leather rectangle and the beautifully stitched edge. When this bullshit with her sister was done, he planned to ask her to make him something, maybe a wallet or a belt.

He left the SUV. Brittle grass crunched under the soles of his shoes. He had mounted exactly one step on the small, rickety staircase leading to her front porch when he heard the unmistakable whir of a spinning revolver chamber. The click of the chamber locking into place made his heart skip a beat. Frozen stiff, he waited for the steel bite of a bullet tearing through his skull.

But it never came.

"You are awfully jumpy tonight, Salvatore." Spider's raspy voice drifted from the side of the small mobile home. A moment later, the snap of a lighter and the bright orange glow of cigarette helped Damon locate the outlaw vice president. He leaned against the edge of the home, right behind a bush and crape myrtle.

"You bastard," Damon hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you? My friend might have shot you."

"Not before my two prospects shot him," Spider answered between puffs.

Damon glanced toward Wes and found him leaning against the door of his car, arms crossed against his chest, while two young men wearing the Calaveras colours stood on either side of him. Not liking this situation at all, Damon stepped off the stairs and back onto the grass. He walked toward Spider to face him like a man. "Is there a problem here?"

"Not at all," Spider replied in that slow, easy way of his. "I'm here to protect my property and make sure that you get out of here unscathed."

The irritation in Spider's voice was impossible to miss. "I don't blame you for being pissed off about all of this. I realize that you are in a bad situation here, but I'm grateful for the help you gave Elena earlier today. I fully intend to pay back that favour."

Spider stepped out of the shadows and flicked his cigarette ash toward the ground. "You better believe I'm going to take full advantage of that debt, but I would have helped Elena regardless of her connection to you." He took a long, final drag on his cigarette. "She is a good person. She doesn't deserve any of this crap."

"I know she doesn't."

Spider stubbed out the cigarette on the bottom of his boot. "You two kept your relationship quiet."

The suspicion in the biker's tone came through clearly. The last thing Damon needed was Spider digging around in his personal business or making trouble for them. "Elena is a private person."

"She is a good girl." He tossed down the cigarette butt. "She deserves to be treated properly. Her old man is cold and dead in the ground so he isn't here to keep you in line, but I am. If I hear one whisper about you hurting her, I will start with your kneecaps and then I will let the rest of the club have a turn."

Damon took the threat in stride. He could see that Spider felt strongly about Elena's welfare. He was glad that she had a father figure looking out for her. "My intentions towards Elena are what you would want from any man who dated your daughter."

Spider issued a harsh laugh. "There isn't a man in Mystic Falls with balls big enough to ask me to date my baby girl." He gestured towards the house. "Do you need keys?"

"I have Elena's set."

"You want some help?"

"Sure." Damon climbed the stairs, crossed the porch and unlocked the front door. Elena had left on a lamp in the living room. A pleasant cinnamon and vanilla scent lingered in the air. Just like the last time he had visited her home, the place was neat and tidy. There was a new throw and pillows on the old, worn out sofa and more recent pictures of the two sisters on the wall.

"The girls are some of my best tenants," Spider said as he shut the storm door. "Elena always pays the rent a week early. She keeps the house and the yard clean. I never have to worry about late notices for the utilities." He rested his arm on the wall and shook his head. "I will be sad to see the girls go."

Damon hadn't considered that Spider might toss them out of their home. He had been planning to let Elena stay at his apartment until she felt safe to come home or able to make a decision about her future without the added pressure of homelessness hanging over her head.

"You understand why I can't keep them here." Spider reached into a vest pocket and retrieved a stick of gum. "I have spent most of the year cleaning up this neighbourhood. I'm moving in families and oilfield guys. I can't have the trouble that followed Elena and Katherine home in my park."

"I'm a businessman. I understand when hard choices have to be made to protect your bottom line."

"I know you won't let Elena end up on the streets or sleeping in her car. Katherine?" He shrugged and jammed the stick of gum into his mouth. "If she survives the weekend, it will be a miracle."

It was a cold, unfeeling statement but that didn't make it any less true.

Not wanting to waste any more time talking, Damon crossed the cramped living room and kitchen. There was a short hallway just off the kitchen. He stopped at the first door he reached, opened it, switched on the light and peeked inside. Even before he spotted the worktable against far wall, he knew it was Elena's room.

If he had felt uncomfortable going through her purse to find her keys, he felt completely out of his depth standing in the middle of her bedroom. It was decorated simply and plainly. She seemed to have sacrificed her sleeping comfort to make room for a wall of industrial shelving that held finished handbags, wallets, belts and packaging and mailing supplies. He investigated the tiny space, running his hands over the tools she used to make such beautiful handmade items. The mismatched initials etched into the tool handles convinced him she had probably purchased these at pawn shops and garage sales.

The laptop on her bed captured his interest. He dragged his finger over the mouse pad and awakened the sleeping machine. A sticky note tacked onto the corner of the screen had her password printed in bright green ink along with a reminder for Katherine to recharge the battery. A faint smile played upon his mouth as he imagined Elena getting irritated with her sister for the millionth time over that.

He typed in the password and found himself staring at extremely detailed spread sheets. With a couple of clicks, he was able to read through Elena's current profit and loss statement, her bank account balances and her projected expenses and profit for the coming year. A word document in another window showed a five-year business plan broken down into yearly, quarterly and monthly goals and tasks.

By the looks of it, Elena was well ahead of her goals. She was very cautious with her money, putting almost all of it back into the business or into a savings account marked for the store she wanted to open with a friend. He noticed the friend's current savings were much lower than Elena's and her expenses were higher too.

She wouldn't like it if he started nosing into her business, but he felt a duty to talk through the problems of partnerships with her. His father had been so desperate to get out of the mafia life that he had taken on the mafia family's boss as a silent partner without a second thought to how it would impact him years down the line. Now that his business was so very successful, he wanted nothing more than to shed those old connections to organized crime, but it was impossible. His family was chained to the mafia for the rest of their lives.

But maybe he could save Elena from making that mistake. If she wanted to go into business with a friend, she needed to do it with those beautiful brown eyes of hers wide, wide open and with an airtight contract in place.

Damon opened another window and discovered the household budget and her shopping list. He wasn't surprised to see that Katherine had been running short on cash or that Elena had been covering the household expenses on her own. Judging by the extremely short shopping list and the stack of clipped coupons he had spotted on her worktable, Elena had been cutting every possible corner to stay afloat.

Closing her laptop, he set it aside and returned to her closet to grab the one suitcase hidden away there. He wouldn't be able to fit much inside of it so he chose carefully from her wardrobe. He was picking his way through her dresser and lamenting the lack of lacy, silky things when Spider appeared in the doorway.

"If you want, I can have the prospects box up the house room by room. We can store it over in the building behind the main office."

"Start with Elena's room," he instructed. "I want this all boxed up carefully."

"I will see if Marley can come over and take care of Elena and Katherine's things," Spider offered.

"I would prefer that." As he packed up Elena's tools, he gave Spider instructions for the delivery of her things. He found a couple of empty boxes on the supply shelf and put everything she might need for her work into them. He recognized a handbag from her virtual storefront, a site that he often found himself checking out late at night when he was thinking about her. It was among her most popular designs but the work she put into each one made it difficult for her to produce at a fast rate.

Her leather goods were made by hand, but there was no rule that said they had to be made by her hand. The seed of an idea blossomed. He needed to investigate the feasibility but he might have discovered a way for Elena to grow her business while maintaining her high quality standards.

Damon left Elena's bedroom and stopped in the bathroom to gather up her toiletries. He wasn't sure which toothbrush was hers but it was easy to pick out her shampoo and conditioner with a simple sniff. He ducked back into her bedroom to grab a couple of things off the top of her dresser like her hairbrush and watch.

She didn't have much jewellery, just a pair of gold hoops, a set of tiny diamond studs that were less than a quarter carat and a fragile golden heart necklace. He carefully traced the thin heart shape. This was the type of jewellery a father gave a young daughter on her birthday or for Christmas. He imagined Elena wearing the necklace and thinking of the father she had lost so suddenly.

Very carefully, he wrapped the necklace and earrings in a monogrammed handkerchief. He tucked it away in the interior pocket of his suit for safekeeping. Finished packing, he gathered up her things and left the house. Spider waited for him to lock the door and trailed him down the front steps and over to his SUV. The raucous laughter coming from the prospects and Wes made them frown.

"Young, dumb and full of cum," Spider remarked dryly.

Damon let loose a snort of laughter at the biker's rough way of describing the trio. What he could hear of the salacious, raunchy tale was enough to make him shake his head. The wild parties thrown by the motorcycle club were infamous around the city. Poor Wes would never experience debauchery like that in the mafia family's service.

Tuning out the filthy story, Damon loaded up his SUV and held out his hand. "I have got a bottle of Dalmore with your name on it."

Spider gripped it hard. "Should I be flattered that your father remembered it is my favourite?"

Damon grinned and let go. "You know where to find me when you are ready to claim that favour owed."

"Remember what I told you about Elena."

"I heard you."

"If there is anything you need from me—for her—you just have to ask."

"I will. Thank you."

Damon whistled at Wes, signalling that it was time to leave. He slid behind the wheel and drove away from Elena's home. Wes shadowed him to the first drug store where he picked up a toothbrush, toothpaste and two pints of the ice cream that he had seen on her shopping list.

By the time he reached the apartment building and waved off Wes, it was nearly three in the morning. As he was gathering up Elena's things and trying to figure out how he would get everything upstairs in one trip, he heard a vibrating sound. Thinking it was his phone, Damon patted his jacket but then realized it was coming from under his seat. He reached down and smacked around on the floorboard until he patted a cell phone.

During his rush to throw her handbag and the bloody evidence into the SUV earlier in the night, Elena's cell phone must have fallen out of her purse and under his seat. He studied the screen and noticed four missed calls and five increasingly more worried text messages from someone named Bonnie and exactly one text message from Katherine.

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

Damon gritted his teeth and dropped the phone into her handbag. Sorry? Katherine was sorry? She had almost gotten her sister raped and murdered tonight. Sorry didn't come close to fixing all that.

He wasn't going to take a hard line with Elena tonight about her sister. She had been through enough and needed to be treated gently. But tomorrow? Tomorrow, he would have to tell her that the relationship she once had with her sister no longer existed. It was the only way for Elena to survive.

Upstairs, he unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by the sight of Enzo striding towards the opening door, his hand on the gun holstered at his hip. The street soldier relaxed and hurried to help him with the luggage and boxes.

"Is she asleep?" Damon asked quietly as he carried the ice cream into the kitchen.

"No, she is not asleep," Elena piped up from the living room.

Damon glanced towards the television and sofa but couldn't see her. She must have been huddled down and curled up under a blanket. "You should be in bed."

"I'm not five," she replied lightly. "I can choose my own bedtime."

Enzo looked terribly amused by the back-and-forth. He was wise enough not to say a word. Instead, he toted her things to the master suite.

After stowing the ice cream in the freezer, Damon shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over a chair. He strode toward the sofa and looked down at Elena. Wrapped up in a different blanket, she had her head propped up on a round pillow and watched an infomercial. She was so deeply burrowed he could barely see the side of her face. "What happened to the other blanket?"

"Enzo made me hot cocoa, and I spilled some of it." She tugged down the blanket and glanced up at him. "I will tackle the stain tomorrow."

"Leave it," Damon said with a wave of his hand. "You aren't a housekeeper. You are a guest."

"For how long?" she asked rather bravely.

Damon chose to ignore that question as Enzo reappeared in the living room. "Were there any problems tonight?"

Enzo glanced at Elena and seemed to be waiting for her to answer first.

She sat up slowly and shared what could only be described as a secret smile with Enzo. "We had a nice time."

"We are both reality TV junkies." Enzo jammed his feet back into his shoes. "I think we can make this work."

Damon wasn't so sure he liked the budding friendship between the pair. "I'm glad to hear it went well."

"Do you want me to stay for the rest of the night?" Enzo gathered up the plate and cups on the coffee table and carried them to the dishwasher. "I'm on your payroll now so you give the orders."

"Try to remember that," Damon muttered softly, already worrying that Enzo might be trying to get too friendly with Elena. "Go home and get some sleep. I will need you back here by nine."

"Night, Enzo," Elena called out as Damon walked her new bodyguard to the door.

"Goodnight, Elena."

Damon followed Enzo into the hallway. "I spoke to Carlos, the night concierge, about our situation. You and only you will be allowed to come and go freely to this floor. Anyone that you bring with you has to be cleared through me. Any of Elena's visitors need to be cleared through me also."

"I understand."

"In the morning, I will leave some cash in an envelope for your daily expenses." Touching Enzo's shoulder, he said pointedly, "Whatever Elena wants, she gets. No questions asked."

"No questions asked," Enzo repeated with a nod. "You can be sure of that."

Damon watched the street soldier get into the elevator before closing and locking the door and returning to the living room. Still wrapped up in the blanket, Elena hugged her knees and watched him as if curious to see what would happen next. In truth, he had no idea, but she looked to him for guidance and reassurance so he endeavoured to be strong for her.

Toeing off his shoes, he left them behind the sofa and walked around to join her. He dropped down on the spot Enzo had occupied earlier and tugged at the knot of his tie, loosening it and tossing aside the long length of striped silk. Working on the top buttons of his shirt, he said, "I went by the house and got some clothes for you. I boxed up the tools and projects on your table. I grabbed your laptop. Your jewellery is in my jacket," he said, patting his chest as the memory suddenly hit him.

"Thank you," Elena whispered with a soft, warm smile. "I really appreciate everything you have done for me." Her mouth slanted with a frown, and she gestured to her forehead. "You are starting to bruise."

"Am I?" He touched the sore spot there and winced. "My head isn't as hard as it used to be."

"You probably should have gone to the emergency room for a CAT scan or something."

"I'm fine. This?" Damon pointed to the small bruise. "I have survived much worse."

"What will your employees think tomorrow?" She worried her lower lip with her teeth.

"Don't do that. You will break the skin again." He touched her wrist and welcomed the spark of heat that travelled through his fingertips. "My employees will think whatever they want to think, but they will keep their mouths shut and work."

Elena shot him a perturbed look. "You shouldn't be so harsh with them."

"Selling cars is a tough business. They don't need me to coddle them." Damon held out his hand, silently beckoning her closer. She placed her palm against his and yielded when he gave her arm a gentle tug. He expected her to slide closer and sit next to him, maybe even let him put his arm around her shoulders, but she stunned him by resting her head on his lap.

The sweetly intimate act made his heart do a wild flip. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do now. His need to make her feel safe and secure overwhelmed him. He grasped the blanket and pulled it up around her shoulders. For a moment, he held tight to the blanket before finally surrendering to the urge to brush his fingers through her silky hair.

"Damon?"

"Yes?" He combed through her wavy locks from the crown of her head down to the very ends.

"What happens now?"

Wanting to banish that quaver of fear in her voice, Damon decided it was time to make his intentions clear. "What happens now is what I should have done months ago."

"And what is that?"

He stroked her cheek and marvelled at the flutter of her eyelashes. "I like you, Elena. I'm attracted to you, and I want you." He trailed his thumb along her jaw. "I think you are attracted to me. I think you want me." He traced her full lower lip. "Do you, Elena?"

"Yes." Her answer came breathlessly but without hesitation. "I want you."

Damon resumed the steady combing motion, hoping it would lull her to sleep. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the cushion and relaxed his tired, tight shoulders. In the morning, he would probably regret falling asleep like this, but right now, only a fire would force him to shift away from Elena. "Then, as long as you want me, I'm yours."


	8. Chapter 8

When Elena woke up a few hours later, she blinked with confusion and glanced around in a disoriented fog. The dim light of a television illuminated a space that was definitely not her bedroom. More perplexing were the strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and holding her close to a warm, powerful and very male body.

Damon.

Elena didn't dare move as she tried to figure out how the hell she had ended up on top of him. Sometime after she had dozed off, Damon had stretched out across the long, wide sofa cushions. He had either dragged her on top of him or—more mortifyingly—she had crawled on top of him like a koala bear seeking heat and comfort.

Although her dating experiences included some serious heavy petting and wild make-out sessions, Elena had never, ever found herself in this position. She grew intensely aware of the hard, masculine form beneath her. The scent of his cologne teased her, and she wanted nothing more than to burrow in against him and inhale that intoxicating scent that was so perfectly him.

But she couldn't do that. This wasn't right. They hadn't even shared a real kiss. She had no business sleeping on top of Damon with their legs entwined and their bodies lined up in a dangerous way. Embarrassed by the thought of him waking up to find them so dangerously entangled, Elena planted a hand on the back of the couch and started to push up as slowly and easily as possible.

"Don't even think about moving," Damon warned in a gruff, sleep-roughened voice.

Elena was startled by how attuned he was to his surroundings, even in his sleep. "But I'm crushing you."

A deep rumble of laughter escaped his throat. "Impossible."

"This can't possibly be comfortable for you."

"I have never been more comfortable in my life." Damon let his hand drift from her upper back along the bow of her spine and right down to the fleshy curve of her bottom. He gave her backside a gentle pat and then a playful squeeze. Elena sucked in a shocked, excited breath and tried not to hyperventilate as he touched her so intimately. "I think this might be my new favourite sleeping position."

Damon's sensual, commanding presence left her trembling inside. She was beginning to understand why other women had eagerly agreed to be his mistress and to abide by whatever stipulations he had for occupying that role. He made her want things that had always frightened her. He made her want to throw caution to the wind and let him discover all the secrets her body had yet to share. She clenched her thighs together to assuage the pulse of heat building between them as she imagined his masterful hands roaming her naked body and making her cry out in pleasure.

He swatted her bottom, and Elena gasped. "I'm trying to get some rest, but if you keep squirming like that, I will have no choice but to take this new relationship of ours to the next level right here on this couch."

Instantly, Elena froze. The mention of their new relationship perplexed and excited her. What did Damon mean by relationship? Was he offering her what he had offered countless other women or was he offering her something different?

Elena wasn't sure she could accept the first possibility. When he had asked her if she wanted him, she had answered truthfully. She did want Damon, but she wanted him her way and on her terms. She didn't want to play his mistress game.

 _You don't have a choice,_ she reminded herself. _Damon is the only thing between you and bunch of racist thugs and one pissed off drug kingpin._

The advice Enzo had given her went round and round in her head. If she could keep Damon happy, he would take care of her. If she wanted something more than he was offering, she would have to either find a way to come to accept his terms or show him that she was worth more than some seedy arrangement.

"Elena," he whispered sleepily. "Stop thinking and relax. It is late, and we both need rest." His arms tightened around her and his hand gently pushed her head back to the comfortable spot it had occupied against his chest. "Go back to sleep."

Elena held her breath when his lips brushed the top of her head. Safe in his arms, she let her tired, overwrought mind shut down. The slow, even thud of his heartbeat under her ear lulled her to sleep again.

When Elena awoke the second time, she was alone on the couch. For a second, she panicked, thinking that Damon had left without a word, but then she smelled coffee. Sitting up, she pushed aside the blanket covering her and combed her fingers through her unruly hair. The memory of Damon doing the same thing last night made her stomach flutter.

She rose from the sofa and went in search of him. She had just walked into the master suite when the door to the bathroom was flung open suddenly. With only a fluffy white towel around his trim waist, Damon strode out of the steaming hot bathroom. Elena's brain misfired as she tried to take in all of his deliciously sexy manliness. The well-defined muscles of his chest and abdomen were incredible.

As if he walked around half-naked in front of her every day, Damon strode towards the garment bag resting flat on the bed. "You must have been really tired. You didn't even move when my clothing was delivered."

"Which minion brought that?" Elena asked with a teasing smile.

Damon grinned at her, and Elena swore her heart skipped four whole beats. "My housekeeper's son."

Taking a seat on the edge of the mattress, she watched him take out a charcoal black suit with a fine pinstripe and a sky blue shirt. When he produced a pair of boxer briefs, she glanced away. Her eyes widened as I heard him drop his towel, but she kept her gaze fixed on the wall, refusing to indulge the overwhelming desire to peek at his nakedness.

It was as though Damon had flipped some switch. Yesterday morning, they were friends, and their relationship had been strictly platonic. Now, the air between them was sexually charged and sizzling. He wasn't hiding his attraction to her or shielding her from his very flirtatious ways.

Desperate to find something to talk about that didn't include his naked body that was only a foot or two from her, Elena said, "I'm surprised you don't keep more clothing here."

"I have never spent the night the here."

"What? Never?" Elena heard his legs swooshing against the fabric of his perfectly tailored pants and judged that it was safe to look at him again. "You have this ridiculously expensive apartment, and you have never slept in it?"

"I didn't buy it for sleep," Damon answered matter-of-factly while zipping his trousers.

"Oh. Right." Her face burned hot as she imagined what types of erotic delights kept him awake all night here. A pang of something that was far worse than jealousy stabbed at her chest. Memories of earlier that morning, of Damon caressing her body and the way he had alluded to the physical relationship he wanted with her reminded Elena that she was wholly out of her depth here.

 _Didn't he understand?_ she thought. _Couldn't he see that I wasn't mistress material? I didn't have the first idea of how to seduce him or please him. I didn't fit the mould and I didn't belong in a place like this. He was a man who strutted around daily wearing thousands of dollars in clothing and shoes. I was a girl who shopped the clearance racks and thrift stores,_ Elena reminded herself.

Feeling inadequate, she tugged the bottom of the hoodie she still wore down around her knees. Thinking of how the women who entertained him here must have looked, she could only imagine what a disappointment she was in the cold light of morning with her mussed hair and ill-fitting clothing. He was probably used to silk lingerie and elegant robes and artfully arranged hair, not this hot mess she presented.

As if confirming her suspicion, he suggested, "You should shower and get dressed before Enzo arrives." Damon slipped into his shirt. "We will have breakfast before I leave."

"All right." Elena pushed off the bed and gave him a wide berth as she headed for the bathroom.

"Elena." Damon snatched her hand before she reached the bathroom door. With a little tug, he pulled her towards him. When he stepped into her, forcing their bodies into contact, Elena held her breath and wondered what would happen next. He cupped her face and trailed his fingertips over the bruise on her cheek and the healing split in her lip. "This looks better than I expected."

"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would." Gazing up into his handsome face, Elena let herself wonder what it would be like to wake up like this every morning, to sit in bed and watch him dress, to have breakfast together, to have his warm, possessive hands on her.

"I should apologize for the way I groped you this morning when I was half-asleep," Damon said, "but I don't think I will. I think you understand the sort of man I am. I could pretend to be someone else but that is disingenuous. I won't have lies between us."

"It surprised me," Elena admitted, "to have you touch me like that when you have always been so careful to not touch me." Feeling brave, she placed her palm against his bare chest. "But I liked it."

"Good." Damon dipped down and teased her with ticklish kisses he pressed along the curve of her throat. "You need to understand that you are in control of this part of our relationship." His hand moved down her spine until it rested on her lower back. "Until you're ready, I will wait."

Elena leaned into him, resting her cheek against his hard chest, and closed her eyes. She wanted to tell him that she was ready now, that she had waited long enough to experience everything he had to offer, but she knew that it wasn't the right time. They were both still reeling from last night's traumatic events. They needed some time to figure out what this was.

Very slowly, she stepped out of his embrace and walked over to her suitcase. She wasn't quite sure what she would find inside but she was pleasantly surprised to see what Damon had packed. After choosing some comfortable yoga pants, a long-sleeve tee and underclothes, she grabbed the small selection of toiletries and locked herself in the bathroom.

Elena's one indulgence every morning was a long shower, but this morning she wanted to have more time with Damon before he left for work. Knowing the hours he kept, she probably wouldn't see him again until well after dark. As she showered and changed, she made a short list of questions she needed answered. Without a blow dryer at hand, she wound my damp hair into a loose coil, secured it with a hot pink elastic band and left the bathroom.

Damon was plucking piping hot English muffins from the toaster when she found him. He flashed that sexy grin of his, the one that made her knees week, and gestured for her to take a seat at the island. "We can eat at the formal dining table, if you prefer."

Elena hopped onto a chair and picked up the glass of orange juice waiting for her. "No, I like this."

Damon dropped an English muffin onto her plate of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit and walked to the other end of the island to grab her purse. He brought it back to her. "Your phone ended up under my seat. I found it last night when I got back from the trip to your house. You had some missed calls."

Anxious to hear from her sister, Elena snatched her phone out of her purse and scrolled down the screen. There was only one message from Katherine.

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

She was sorry? Feeling uncharitable and angry with her older sister, Elena wasn't ready to accept her apology. Katherine had nearly gotten her killed—and for what? Money? It was ridiculous and horrible.

But Elena still loved her. No matter what mistakes Katherine had made, she was still her sister, and Elena loved her.

 _Call me. I need to know you are okay._

There were more than a dozen messages and seven missed calls from Bonnie. By the looks of them, she was freaking out. Not wanting her to get the cops involved and make things worse for Katherine or herself, Elena hastily composed a text and hit send.

 _I'm okay._ Elena snuck a glance at Damon who was busy stirring creamer into his coffee and smiled at the thought of using Bonnie's nickname for him. _The Italian fox saved me. I will call later with details._

As if Bonnie had been waiting for her answer, Bonnie zipped back a message only a few seconds later.

 _OMG. I was so worried. You sure you are okay?_

 _Yes. I'm fine. Really._

 _Call me. ASAP._

 _I will._

"Is everything okay?" Damon stabbed at his eggs. "I don't want to pry into your personal business, but if the police become involved…"

"No, everything is fine. It is just Bonnie. She is my best friend. We worked together last night. I guess she got back to CleanRite and saw my busted up car and really freaked out. She went by the house this morning, and I wasn't there so she assumed the worst."

"Invite her over. Let her see that you are safe." He sipped his coffee. "We will put her on the visitor list downstairs, but she has to come alone."

Elena played with her fork as she considered the authoritarian tone he had just used. Maybe it was better to just get all of the uncomfortable questions out of the way. "Damon, am I your mistress now?"

"Yes." Damon eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup. "Unless you have changed your answer from last night?"

"No."

He put down his cup and studied her. A vulnerable expression flashed across his face. "But?"

"But I don't know what you want from me or what you expect from me, Damon." Clenching her fork, Elena admitted, "I don't know how to be a mistress."

Damon pried the fork from her hand and slowly unfurled her fingers. "What I want is you, Elena." He stroked her fingers. "I have wanted you, just as you are, since that night I took you home. If you only knew how hard it has been for me…" He clasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. "All I want is for you to be happy. That's it."

"Nothing is that simple, Damon." Elena wanted to believe it could be, but she had seen enough heartache in her life to know better. "You have offered me sanctuary, and you have put your life on the line for me. I'm so eternally grateful for that, but I don't want you to think that I'm here with you now only because of that. I don't want you to think that I'm trading myself—my body—for safety."

"I don't think that, and if I did, I wouldn't be here. I don't want to take advantage of you. I don't want to hurt you or make you feel used. I offered my help freely. You can say no to this arrangement of ours at any time, and I will still make sure you are protected."

Damon seemed to be intent on making that point very clear to Elena. He wasn't asking her to pay for safety with sex. He was giving his protection freely because they were friends and because he cared for her. She would never be able to adequately thank him for what he had done. Damon had willingly put himself in extreme danger for her.

"As for what I expect from a mistress? The rules are simple." Damon lifted her hand and kissed each of her fingertips as he ticked off his rules. "You will not have any male visitors in this apartment. Period. You will not have any overnight guests in this apartment without clearing it with me first. You will not smoke or take drugs. You will not work. You will be available to me whenever I call."

It took Elena a few seconds to take all of that in and process it. Indignation swelled within her. "I'm not giving up my work, Damon."

Damon seemed surprised that she was pushing back so quickly. "I don't want you cleaning floors or waiting tables anymore. Your handbag business is different. In fact, I want you to put your full focus on it."

"But how am I supposed to support myself? I have school loans. My car was probably totalled last night. I have health insurance costs and—"

"The car is easy enough for me to replace, and I will take care of your monthly expenses."

The thought of Damon paying for her living expenses made Elena so uncomfortable. "Damon, I've been working and supporting myself since I was, like, sixteen."

"And it is high time you got a break," he grumbled roughly. Reaching out to touch her cheek, he urged, "Don't fight me on this. Let me take care of you."

It was a tempting offer, one that Elena would be stupid to cast aside in her current predicament, but a lifetime of broken promises had taught her to be wary. She desperately wanted to pursue a relationship with Damon, but she had to be careful. He was obviously a man used to getting his way in all things.

"Look at you," he said with a faint smile. "You are so grim. Is what I'm offering really so bad?"

Damon was trying to tease but Elena sensed he was hurt by her reaction. Taking his hand between both of hers, she held his gaze. "This isn't easy for me. My past…"

"I know," he murmured. "I know." He seemed to truly understand her wariness. "Just give me a chance to show you that I can be trusted to come through for you." He leaned in and brushed a tender kiss to her cheek. "Always."

Elena's skin was still alight with the tingling pressure of his lips when he put her fork back in her hands and urged her to eat. While they had breakfast, he talked to her about the building's amenities and the nearby shops.

"But I don't want you going out by yourself," he warned before finishing his coffee. "Enzo will be following you like a shadow. That is non-negotiable."

"Until?" Elena pushed the grapes around her plate with the fork.

"Until I say it is safe," he replied matter-of-factly and polished off his orange segments. Pushing away his plate, he said, "We need to talk about your sister."

Elena really didn't want to talk about Katherine. She feared what Damon would say, but there was no way around it. "All right."

"If your sister is smart, she has already crossed two or three state lines. If she is not, if she is still in Virginia, she is in a lot of trouble. That means you are in trouble, and I can't have that." He tapped his fingers against the granite. "Your sister is not welcome in this building. Frankly, I would prefer you have zero contact with her, but I know that is impossible for you."

"I'm not cutting my sister out of my life, Damon."

"I won't force you to rat your sister out to Marko or Kai, but I have to put my foot down when it comes to seeing her again."

"Damon, she is my sister. She is all the family I have. You are asking to turn my back on my blood."

"I'm asking you to be smart and to help me keep you alive," Damon countered. "I know what I'm asking is difficult and it hurts—but you have to do it. Katherine made her decision when she chose to help Mason with this scam. Don't let her put all that guilt on you when she is the reason this is happening. You are just reacting to a bad situation in the best way you can."

"She is my sister," Elena reiterated. "She is all I have left."

Damon started to say something but then he clamped his mouth shut. A second later, he finally said, "Whatever happens with Katherine, you are not alone. I'm here for you."

"Until you get tired of me like you did your other mistresses," Elena replied in a quiet but firm voice. It was a petulant thing to say, and she instantly regretted it. Damon's head snapped back as if she had smacked him. In a way, she had, only she had used words instead of her hand.

Before Elena could apologize, Damon was pushing out of his chair and gathering up their dishes. "Enzo will be here any minute. I need to finish up some last minute arrangements for him."

"Damon…"

"I'm fine, Elena." He had his back to her as he dropped our plates and silverware in the dishwasher. "You should unpack and get settled."

Not at all used to being dismissed like a naughty child, Elena nevertheless slid off her chair and returned to the master suite. It didn't take her long to unpack her one suitcase or the two boxes of tools and materials. She was examining the handbag she had been working on yesterday when Damon appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Enzo is here." He leaned against the frame. "I need to leave."

Not wanting him to leave with all this tension existing between them, Elena set aside the handbag and crossed the bedroom. "Damon, I'm sorry about what I said."

"Why should you be sorry? You didn't say anything untrue. I did get tired of the other women before you. Six months? Seven months? The flame burned out, and I sent them on their way."

His description of his earlier relationships caused a painful clenching sensation in her stomach. Was he trying to tell her that she shouldn't get too comfortable with him? That they were already running the clock on the expiration date for their new relationship?

Damon shoved off the frame and closed the short distance between them. "Do you know the friendship I have had with you is the longest I have ever shared with any woman? We are closing in on twelve months, Elena." He eyed her curiously. "All this time, you have had me right in the palm of your hand, and I have never even kissed you properly."

That big, warm hand of his cradled her nape, and he slowly lowered his face, all the while searching her eyes as if looking for a sign that he needed to stop. Just before his lips touched hers, he whispered, "Is this all right?"

Elena clutched at the lapels of his suit jacket and lifted on tiptoes to meet his descending mouth. "Yes."

Their lips met cautiously, but Damon quickly took command. Eyes closed, Elena clung to his powerful frame and revelled in the wicked, wicked way he kissed her. When his tongue flicked against the seam of her lips, she answered his silent plea for entrance by shyly touching her tongue to his. He groaned, the low, rumbling noise reverberating through her, and tugged her tighter to his body.

With a little pressure, he guided her towards the closest wall. Trapped against his hard chest, Elena surrendered to his sensual onslaught. She slid one hand to his shoulders and combed the fingers of the other through his short hair while he plundered her mouth, taking and taking until she was shaking and breathless. The ache between her thighs left her quivering with need.

She shuddered as Damon kissed the fingertip bruises on her throat and then skimmed his lips along her jaw. He claimed her mouth one last time and traced her swollen pout with his thumb. "I will see you this evening. Stay inside with Enzo, and you will be safe."

"I will." Still a bit dazed from his kisses, Elena sagged against the wall. Damon backed away slowly and left the bedroom. Trying to get her racing heartbeat under control, she shook her head and touched her tingling mouth.

 _What have I gotten myself into now?_ Elena couldn't stop asking herself.


	9. Chapter 9

"Boss, you have a visitor waiting in your office." Audrey, one of the weekend receptionists, greeted Damon with a cup of coffee and a stack of messages. "It is Rose Slater."

Rose, the only daughter of Mr Slater, the well-known importer and not so well-known underworld don, ran the legal side of her father's business empire. She was very highly respected around the city and ran in some of his social circles. In a few short weeks, they would begin serving on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, and both had entertained the idea of putting together an organization to support small businesses owned by minorities and immigrants.

But why would Rose be in his office this early on a Saturday morning? "Did you offer her coffee or tea?"

"Yes, sir. I made sure she was comfortable."

Taking the coffee and messages, Damon gave Audrey a few quick orders for the morning. "Send one of our tow trucks to CleanRite to pick up a car from the lot. They will know which one it is when they see it. Have them take it to Mercury Motors. Give the crew at Mercury a call so they will know to expect it. Make sure they know I'm handling all the estimates and bills."

"Yes, sir."

Damon handed her his key fob. "Will you please grab the handbag and wallet on the front seat of my SUV? And bring me a new hire packet, too."

"For a salesman?"

"No, for one of the hourly positions." He needed to get Enzo on the payroll by the end of the day. "After you have brought me the box and the packet, hold my calls until I'm finished with my meeting."

"Yes, sir."

Upstairs, Damon entered his office and found Rose sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. Lithe and willowy, she eyed him with what could only be described as cool disdain. He didn't let her expression intimidate or concern him. In all the years he had known her, she had hardly smiled.

"Good morning, Rose." Damon shut the door and shifted the items he held so he could shake her hand as she rose from her chair. "Did we have a meeting on the schedule?"

"No." Her hand was cold in his, but she had a strong grip. He had a feeling men underestimated her all the time—and suffered for it. "But I thought this needed to be dealt with face to face."

"All right." He moved behind his desk and took a seat. Before he could ask her what they needed to discuss, Rose retrieved an envelope from her purse and tossed it onto his desk. He opened it and found an invoice for a new security system. Confused, he asked, "What is this?"

"The next time you want to take a bat to a bunch of thugs I suggest you check for security cameras." Rose shook her head and played with the elegant gold band encircling her wrist. "You are damned lucky that Wes knew the dishwasher boys who were working last night. They disabled the system before the police could get their hands on it. Unfortunately, their method of disabling was permanent."

His stomach pitched at the mention of police. "I forgot the restaurant was under your family's control. I didn't mean to make trouble for you or your father, especially not now when he is so ill." Damon hadn't heard any news about the old man's fight with cancer. "How is he?"

"He is stubborn." Rose clearly didn't want to talk about it. "Look, I despise Marko and his ilk so I'm going to turn a blind eye to the mess you made in our parking lot. What really concerns me is the way you put yourself at risk." She looked at him. "You are smarter than that."

"The circumstances were extreme."

Rose actually smirked at him, her primly set mouth quirking up just a bit. "They usually are when a woman is involved."

"I can't argue with that." Not wanting any bad blood with Rose or her father, Damon offered, "I am truly sorry for last night. I know how hard we all try to keep our illicit connections clear of our legitimate businesses. I should have contacted you, in person, to apologize."

"We are fine," Rose assured him. "For what it is worth, my father and I are willing to back you in whatever way that you might find useful in this matter. There is no love lost between my father and Marko, not after that horrifying bit of business his people tangled us up in last year."

Although he didn't know all of the details, Damon had heard the tale of Mr Slater discovering too late that cargo shipments he had been hired to shepherd through customs contained cargo of a human variety. It had been a very public black eye for the old man.

Audrey knocked at the door, and Damon gave her permission to enter. She carried the box holding Elena's handbags and the new hire packet to his desk. After whisking away Rose's empty coffee cup, she left the office.

Setting aside the box and the packet, Damon said, "Listen, I know some of our contracts are up for renegotiation in early January. For the trucking services my company provides for your restaurants and for the food and supplies the company my father owns with the family ships out to your locations," he clarified. "I'm sure we can take this favour," he waved the envelope, "into account when we settle on new terms."

"I'm counting on it." She gestured to the box on his desk. "Is that a handbag I see?"

"It is." Smiling, Damon rose from his seat and started unpacking the box. "I actually planned to visit your office so we could talk about these handbags and wallets."

"It is a few weeks too early for Christmas so I'm assuming these aren't gifts for me." The faint smile on Rose' face hinted at a mischief streak Damon never would have guessed she possessed. "This is lovely." She picked up the larger handbag and ran her fingers along the blush pink Saffiano leather. "Who made these?"

"My girlfriend," Damon answered proudly. Only a moment later did he realize what word he had used, not mistress or lover but girlfriend. It was a word that had always struck him as so very juvenile, but it suddenly seemed clean and new and entirely more suitable for Elena. Because no matter how hard he tried to shove her into that role, she was never, ever, ever going to the perfect little mistress. After all, this morning, his girl had shown him her claws with that six month remark.

"She is very talented." Rose examined the wallet. "Oh, look at how slim this is! The design is wonderful. Is she self-taught or did she go to college for this?"

"Both," he said, running his fingers over the elaborate stitching on the clutch. "She currently sells her leather goods in an online boutique, but she is planning to open a proper store front soon. I would like to help her find a way to increase her productivity."

"Well, she needs a team who understands leather goods and attention to detail," Rose murmured. "Let me work my contacts. I'm sure I can get you some names by the end of the week."

Damon had suspected Rose would be able to help him. There were a number of small factories under her family's control and protection that employed seamstresses and cobblers. Surely, a few of them had experience with leather goods. "I would appreciate it."

"It is no problem." She glanced at her watch. "I need to go. My daughter has figure skating practice in half an hour, and I never miss it. I will have my assistant call you with those names. I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting a production line set up."

"I hope not."

After Rose left, Damon settled into his chair and went through the usual Saturday morning routine, holding a sales meeting and talking one-on-one with his salesmen and managers before returning calls and answering internal emails. When he had a chance, he dialled Fox, Giuseppe's hacker who had set up the computer systems across his dealerships.

"Henhouse Security Services," a sunny female voice answered. "Fox here. How can I help you?"

The name of her company brought a smile to his face. "Fox, this is Damon Salvatore."

"Oh! Hey, how are you? I was going to call you later to talk about the attempted hacking."

An uproar of hooting voices and clapping erupted in the background. It didn't take him long to figure out that she was standing in a room of raucous gamers. "Is this a good time to talk?"

"Yes, it is. Just…um…hang on a sec. I need get back into my office." A door squealed loudly and slammed into place. "Sorry about that. We are testing a new version for Maisie. Like you cannot even believe how gore-tastic this new zombie shredding version is!"

Having seen enough violence and bloodshed firsthand, Damon didn't need video games to give him a vicarious thrill. "I will pass."

"Right. Um. Okay. So I spent the night clearing out all the malware and viruses and all that awful shit that had attempted to infect your systems. It was all quarantined so no sensitive information was compromised. The system worked the way it was supposed to and saved your virtual backside."

"Well that is a relief." He rubbed his sore neck. His days of sleeping on couches were long behind him and he was paying for it this morning. "Do you have any recommendations for preventing something like this in the future?"

"Vet your cleaning staff better?" she hazarded a smart-ass guess. "No, but really, Damon? Shit like this happens. It is just part of the business. Your best offense is a good defence. You just need to keep your systems up to date and well-protected. This why you pay me an outrageous amount of money every month."

He finished off the last of his lukewarm coffee. "So I assume by the cleaning staff remark you know who was behind this."

"I figured out the identity of the hacker who wrote this program before I heard the news that he had gone missing. His signature is one I recognize easily. Edgar has been a wannabe black hat for years. He is good, but he is not elite." She sighed sadly. "That is some bad, bad business there."

Wondering if she was just as plugged in to the underworld, Damon asked, "Have you heard who might have been interested in buying this stolen information?"

"I haven't heard any specifics, but it is a good bet they come from your old stomping grounds. Identity theft is big business over there. Would you like me to poke around and see if I can find out the name of the buyer?"

"No," he said quickly. "I don't want you to put yourself at risk. Let's just leave this alone."

"All right. I will probably swing by your dealerships on Monday just to take a peek at the systems again and run some diagnostics."

"Thank you, Fox."

"No problem."

After she hung up, Damon drummed his fingers on his desk. He didn't want to think that Giuseppe might be more involved in this than he had initially let on, but it was entirely possible that Giuseppe might know the identity of the buyer.

His cell phone rattled across his desk. Fearing it was Elena calling with a problem, he snatched it up and glanced at the screen. It was Giuseppe's name that flashed at him. "Hello?"

"Damon, can you get over to the Mystic? I need to speak with you."

Damon pulled back his cuff and looked at his watch. "Sure. It may take me half an hour or more to get over there."

"Take your time."

As his father ended the call, Damon remembered the jewellery he had tucked into his handkerchief last night. "Damn."

He quickly scrolled through his list of recent calls, found Elena's number and hit dial. While he waited for her to answer, he logged out of the computer system and locked away the files on his desk. When she didn't answer in time, the call went to her voicemail.

"Hi! You have reached Elena Gilbert. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave me a message, and I will get back you!"

Although her bright voice made him smile, he didn't leave a message. Why wasn't she answering? Fearing the worst, he started to call Enzo but Elena returned his call first. "Elena? Is everything okay?"

"Hello to you, too," she said with a laugh. "Yes, everything here is okay. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. You didn't answer, and I started to worry."

"Damon," she murmured his name. "You shouldn't worry so much. I'm safe here with Enzo. We are working together in the kitchen. I left my phone in the bedroom so I had to run across the apartment. Now I'm all out of breath!"

He could think of a dozen ways he would like to take her breath away, but right now wasn't the time to indulge in fantasies. "Did the concierge send up someone for my suit?"

"No. Why?"

"I asked for laundry service. Will you find my suit in the closet please? I put your jewellery in a handkerchief and tucked it into my jacket pocket. I would hate for it to get lost at the cleaner's."

"Oh. Okay. Hang on." A short time later, she announced, "Found it! Thank you so much for bringing this to me."

"I could tell it was important to you."

"I don't have much jewellery, but what I do have means something. The necklace and the hoops were a Christmas gift from my dad. He's the only person who has ever given me jewellery."

Instantly, Damon knew exactly what he was going to do when he got to the Mystic. Not wanting to tip her off, he changed the subject, "So you have put Enzo to work?"

"He is really good at punching holes in leather. I might let him try grommets next."

A zing of jealousy snapped through him. "Well I'm glad to hear that you are finding him useful."

"Elena, do you want to order something for lunch?" Enzo bellowed in the background. "I'm starving."

"You just ate three oranges and a banana!"

"Like an hour ago," Enzo called back. "Do you like Chinese? There is a place a few blocks from here that is pretty good. Or how about Thai?"

"Do you realize how loud you are?" Elena scolded Enzo with a laugh. "I'm just in the next room, but you are shouting so loud they can probably hear you down in the lobby."

"I'm starving."

"You are a drama queen."

"I'm about to start chewing on this leather. That is how hungry I am."

"Oh my God!" Elena laughed. "We will order Chinese, okay? Can I finish my call now?"

"Is that your friend? We can wait to order lunch until she gets here."

"No, it is Damon. Now quiet down and get back to work."

"Yes, madam."

"So anyway," Elena said, returning to their call. "We are good here. Bonnie is going to come over later and spend some time with me. I thought we might take Enzo and go see my car later?"

Damon noticed the way she phrased it as a question. "That is not necessary. I had your car towed earlier this morning. I'm handling it."

"Oh. Well…what am I supposed to do about the insurance claim?"

"There won't be one. We will see what the car is worth and sell it. You can use the cash for your business."

"I will have to use the cash for a new car. Well—not a new car. A used car that is new to me," she said.

Damon already had his eye on a sporty Jaguar coupe for her, but he sensed this wasn't the type of conversation that would go well over the phone. "We will figure it out, Elena."

"I'm sure we will. Look, I'm going to send Enzo out for groceries later. Otherwise the takeout bill here is going to be sky high."

Knowing how stubborn Elena could be, Damon warned, "Don't even try to give him money for the groceries. I left him funds to cover your daily expenses."

Elena started to answer him, but a loud shout of pain interrupted her. Enzo began cursing angrily. "Uh-oh. Sounds like Enzo just had his first on-the-job injury. I hope your workman's comp coverage is good, Damon."

"You mean you hope your coverage is good," Damon corrected with a teasing laugh. "He is currently working for you."

"What? That is so not fair!"

"Welcome to the cutthroat world of business, sweetheart." Listening to Enzo swear nastily, he added, "Tell Enzo that he is forbidden from teaching you that colourful language. If I hear any of those words come out of your mouth, I will know who to blame."

"When he stops crying, I will let tell him."

"See that you do." Even though Damon would like nothing better than to stay on the phone with her, he had to get moving. "I will call you later."

"Be careful out there, Damon."

"I will."

When their call ended, Damon held his phone to his ear a moment longer than necessary. He was so tempted to leave the office for this meeting with his father and not come back until Sunday afternoon or even Monday morning. Only the gut feeling that they were going to get slammed with customers later in the day kept him from doing it. He couldn't leave his employees in the lurch like that, especially not when so many of his them were doing their damnedest to earn their holiday bonuses. He needed to be here to work deals and push through financing.

Down on the main sales floor, he walked the perimeter to ensure customers were being treated the way he liked and that all of the salesmen were busy. The quickest way to earn a pink slip at any of his dealerships was to be discovered standing around, shooting the breeze or laughing with co-workers. The only thing he hated more were high-pressure salesmen. He liked ambition and drive, but he didn't want the salesmen skulking after customers, breathing down their necks and pushing financing and trades that weren't a good deal for both sides.

Satisfied that the sales floor was operating like a well-oiled machine, he pulled aside the general manager for a chat. With his temporary absence squared away, Damon left the dealership and headed for the luxury jewellery store – the Mystic operated by Kazimir and his daughter, Zoya. He hadn't visited the jeweller in more than a year. Marissa, his last mistress, had preferred a different high-end jeweller so he had indulged her with gifts only from there.

Finding parking at the Mystic was a nightmare as usual. Why the man hadn't moved to a better location Damon would never understand. He spotted his father's Land Rover and pulled into a space a few cars down. Ilya, one of his father's handlers, leaned against the hood and smoked while keeping an eye out for trouble.

It wasn't so long ago that Ilya had been the young kid on the street crew. Now he had advanced to the inner circle and was poised for a promotion to street captain. He stopped to shake Ilya's hand.

When Damon stepped inside the store, he was instantly greeted by Kazimir who directed him to the cosy room where clients with expensive taste could inspect jewels and designs in privacy. He found Zoya and Giuseppe there.

"Damon." Giuseppe pointed to an empty seat. "We are almost done."

"How are you, Damon?" Zoya drew sunbursts on her sketchpad. "It has been awhile since we have seen you."

"You should go ahead and unlock the diamond safe," Giuseppe joked. "I have a feeling you are going to be seeing a lot more of him."

"Oh?" Zoya's bright blue eyes lit up excitedly.

"We will talk after you have finished with my father." Damon waved towards their work.

Taking the hint, Giuseppe said, "Zoya, this gift needs to be something beautiful but simple. The bracelet has to be something that my niece can wear every day."

Zoya smiled warmly as she sketched out some ideas on her notepad. "That is so lovely and sweet."

"And the other gift? It needs to be regal." Giuseppe emphasized the description with a flourish of his hands. "We need to stay away from anything too gaudy, but I want her to have something incredible to mark the birth of her first child."

"I have gotten to know Sarah's tastes very well this year. I have an idea of what she likes and what you like and how to make it work." Zoya jotted down her notes. "Do you have any preference for gemstones for the necklace and earrings?"

"Sapphires," he answered. "Sarah has always liked Sapphires just like my brother."

"Platinum? Gold? White gold?" When Giuseppe gave her a look, she let loose a twitter of laughter. "Right. Platinum. Always." She jotted down more notes. "I should have some preliminary designs in a week. Does that work for your timeline?"

"Yes, that is fine. Would you mind stepping out for a few minutes? I promise I will let you have your room back as soon as we are done."

"Of course," she graciously replied.

When the door closed behind Zoya, Giuseppe reached over and smacked Damon on the back of his head. It wasn't a hard hit, but it was enough to get his attention.

"Hey!" Damon winced and smoothed down his hair. "What the hell was that for?"

"Did you really think I wasn't going to find out you went behind my back and asked Logan for help? Huh? How the hell do you think that makes me look?"

"That's not—I didn't go to Logan for backup. I went there for information. I didn't know what was happening with Elena's sister, but I knew that he would. I never asked him to publicly stand for me."

"Well he did," Giuseppe shot back. "I had Marko on my doorstep this morning complaining that Logan's Mercury Motors boys towed his truck from the restaurant he was at last night. This morning, they picked up his wife's SUV while she was at the gym. Needless to say, he got the message."

"I didn't ask Logan to get involved. He promised he would have my back if things went sideways but he didn't tell me he was going to harass Marko and his wife."

"Apparently, Marko went by that marble monstrosity of yours this morning, but there was no answer so he decided to walk over another street to bother me. Do you know how I like to spend my Saturday mornings?"

Damon had an idea of what his father enjoyed doing on Saturday mornings. "Probably not having coffee."

Giuseppe levelled that cold no-nonsense stare of his so Damon eased off the sarcasm.

"Look, obviously, this was not how I envisioned any of this happening, okay? So get off my back, dad."

Giuseppe's jaw tensed. He spun his wedding band around his finger, a gesture that seemed to have replaced his old habit of tossing that lucky lighter of his back and forth between his hands. "It seems Rose Slater is mixed up in this mess now. She is threatening to blackball Marko around town. She even told Marko that all it would take is a few words to have his wife blacklisted around town." Giuseppe shook his head. "That woman scares me. I can't get a read on her at all. I used to dismiss that rumour about her poisoning her husband but now I'm not so sure."

Damon had heard the rumour and had instantly believed it. The man had been in his late thirties when he had died while on vacation abroad. The official word had been a heart attack but the whispers were poison. That marriage had always had problems apparently.

"Rose is giving us a free pass for that bullshit that went down behind her family's restaurant, but she is blaming Marko for his men trespassing on her turf and trying to beat an innocent young woman to death behind one of her businesses."

"She came to see me this morning. I have agreed to pay for the replacement of the security system that was disabled."

"Keep her happy," Giuseppe ordered. "She can make trouble that we don't need."

"Understood."

"Logan is pushing for the council to sanction Marko. This is the third time he has trespassed into someone else's territory. He has done it to Spider and the MC twice. First it was the kidnapping at Spider's trailer park when all that shit went down with Step's girlfriend and her little brother. Yesterday his men trespassed again to shakedown your girl. Then trying to beat her up in the Slater family's backyard." Giuseppe rubbed his face. "They are too reckless."

Damon held his tongue and waited to see what his father would say.

"I told Marko that he is going to have to eat the cost of his downed men and that whatever bad blood there is between his side and yours ends today." His father slashed his hand through the air. "You and Elena are free and that score is settled. I made it clear that if his men even look at Elena, I will let you gouge their eyes out. It is done. Over. Finished."

"And the sister?" Damon didn't have high hopes for Katherine's case but he had to ask.

"She is not my problem." Giuseppe cast a pointed look his direction. "Or yours. Don't be stupid. You stay away from Katherine and Mason. Let Kai's men sort that shit out."

"Have you heard anything about Kai?"

"He is looking for Elena." Giuseppe reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved his phone. He swept his finger across the screen and read a message that made his mouth twitch with amusement. There was only one person in the entire world who could make him smile like that – Sarah Salvatore, the only daughter of Zach Salvatore, brother of Giuseppe who was killed as he tried to protect Giuseppe in one of the street fights. Giuseppe had treated Sarah as his daughter as he vowed to take good care of her. "I sent Danny over to talk to him this morning and to let him know that Elena belongs to you and that the mafia family and I have taken an interest in her. Kai assured Danny that he only wants to make sure that Elena is safe."

"Lying little prick," Damon groused.

"Don't worry about him." Giuseppe typed a reply. "I went over his head and cleared Elena's safety with Hector Salas. Kai's boss will put him back in his kennel where he belongs. Just keep her away from him until his wounded pride heals." Giuseppe pocketed his phone and grinned. "Danny said Kai has two black eyes, a broken nose and a bandaged head. I guess he must have slammed face first into the ground. That will teach the little bastard to try to assault some poor woman again."

The image of Kai so badly wounded amused Damon but it wasn't nearly enough pain for what he had tried to do to Elena.

"How is she?" Giuseppe seemed genuinely curious. "Last night, she looked badly shaken."

"She is much better this morning. Having Enzo there seems to be helping."

"Are they getting along well? I haven't spent much time with him, but so far I like him."

"Elena enjoyed his company last night, and they seemed to be getting along just fine earlier." Damon didn't want to dwell on the uncomfortable feeling he had about Enzo and Elena alone together and getting so chummy. "I wanted to let you know that Wes really came through for me last night. He made sure there was no evidence on the security tapes to implicate me. He went above and beyond, dad."

"He is a good man," Giuseppe agreed. "He reminds me of me. He is hungry and he has got something to prove. He is not big enough to be an enforcer but he has got that instinct, you know?"

"I have been watching him train at the warehouse. He is getting better in the ring. He will never be as good as Sergei or Vanya but he is developing some skill."

"He better develop fast. We need a new champion before the spring fights start. The family has a reputation to uphold after you, Stefan and Sergei."

"You could always throw Ten in there."

Giuseppe laughed. "That P.O. of his is way too uptight to let that pass. Hey," he said, swivelling in his chair and tapping the table top, "can we talk about that strip of buildings you own uptown?"

"Sure." Damon had acquired two empty lots ripe for development and a strip of retail space in the fire sale that had followed real estate developer Jonah Krause's arrest for attempted murder. The sorry son of a bitch had hired thugs to kill Dimitri Stepanov and his then-girlfriend Benny Marquez but the couple had fought them off and survived.

"Those retail spaces are still wide open, right?"

"They are," he affirmed. "The area there is developing and growing, but it is taking time to fill the prime spots. I have been kicking around an idea about one of the corner retail spaces. Elena wants to take her online handbag boutique to a proper storefront. The area is high traffic, and it is right there next to the Galleria."

Of course, getting Elena to agree to take the space would be an uphill battle. Damon had seen her savings and the working capital she planned for her business. She didn't have anywhere close to the budget to afford prime real estate like that, but he wouldn't charge her, not at first. He would eat the cost to help her get that business off the ground. It would be a solid investment. He believed in her and her dreams. Someday, she would pay him back and make good on the debt.

"You will need another business on the other corner to anchor that space," Giuseppe remarked. "I think I have the perfect one."

"Oh?"

"When Sarah had her art show in London, it occurred to me that she really needs her own gallery space. It needs to be in a high traffic area, and it needs to fit the profile of the neighbourhood. That strip of retail space that you own is perfect, Damon."

Damon could already see the way the retail strip would look with Elena's luxury handbag boutique on one end and Sarah's high-end gallery on the other. "But what would go in between? That space in the centre would have to be something truly special."

Giuseppe gestured around them. "Kazimir has been looking for a new space, one with better access and room to grow. Zoya's designs are becoming more and more popular. In five years? Ten? She will be a household name. She needs a beautiful place that draws in flush customers. Just think of Sarah and Elena sitting on either side of one of the most popular jewellery stores in this city."

Damon was thinking about it, and he liked it. Certain there was a catch, he asked, "What sort of deal are you looking for here?"

Giuseppe shook his head. "This would be above board and clean from the start. It would all be in Sarah's name and using her money." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I would expect that she be given a break on the contract and lease." He flicked his fingers. "We can work out the exact details later. What do you think?"

"I like it." Damon leaned back in his chair and let his mind race with all the possibilities. "I have been thinking about my goals for next year. Maybe it is time to finally do something with all that property."

"I would like it if you would consider Sergei and David's construction company for any of the work that needs to be done. Maybe bring in Marko for a piece of it. Just a few crumbs from the table, you understand?"

"I do." Whatever his personal disagreements with Marko, the man had a lot of money behind him and the potential to cause problems down the line. "Viktor is coming to Mystic Falls next week. I will talk business with him and see what he thinks about that property. He might have a better idea of how to structure this."

"How is he doing?" Giuseppe remarked with feeling.

"Five steps ahead of the market and always hedging his bets when it comes to the government policies back home in Italy," Damon replied. "I'm sure he has taken a hit, but you watch. He will come out richer than he was before this shit went down. He always does."

"I hope you're right." Giuseppe glanced at his vibrating phone and smiled again. "I need to go. I promised Sarah we would pick out nursery furniture today. If I make her wait much longer, she is going to take Ten with her and bankrupt me. You would not believe what a crib costs, my son! Don't even get me started on rocking chairs, changing tables, dressers, linens, toys, clothes—it never ends."

"You can complain all you like but we both know you have never been happier." Damon had witnessed the change in Giuseppe since Sarah got married. The announcement of the impending arrival of Sarah's first child had caused his father to go into a fiercely protective mode but he was also smiling more and seemed lighter and happier.

Giuseppe's expression turned serious for a moment. "You don't know what you stand to lose until you finally have it all." His eyes turned dark with ferocity. "I will burn this city to the ground before I let anyone harm them. I promise Zach I will look after Sarah."

That wasn't hyperbole or an empty statement of bravado. He meant it. There wasn't a throat he wouldn't cut to keep Sarah and the baby safe.

Reaching out to tap the table in front of Damon, Giuseppe said, "You will understand that soon enough, I wager. Your brother understood that, didn't he?"

"I don't know about that," Damon nervously answered. "Marriage and children? That is not for me."

Giuseppe seemed surprised. "Then you'd better cut Elena loose," he advised. "That is the type of woman who wants a husband and a family. She is not the type that will be happy with expensive trinkets and a posh apartment for very long."

It was a warning that Damon couldn't shake even after his father had left and Zoya returned to help him pick out some jewellery for Elena. As he examined different watches, he conceded that his father had only affirmed what he had always known. Elena deserved better than what he had offered her, but he wasn't sure he could give her anything more.

Marriage? Children? He didn't know the first damned thing about being a husband or a father. His childhood hadn't taught him anything useful. Then again, neither had Giuseppe's or his brother Stefan's and they both seemed incredibly happy. Things weren't always perfect, but they were making it work.

 _Could I do that?_ Damon honestly didn't know. The thought of failing Elena, of disappointing or hurting her, turned him inside out. Maybe it was better to have her for a little while and then set her free. Yet even as he tried to convince himself that was the right thing to do, he could hardly breathe. The idea of another man swooping in and taking Elena away from him hit him like a punch to the gut.

"So that's a watch, necklace and bracelet for everyday wear. Would you like to look at something special?" Zoya placed the items he had chosen on a velvet-lined tray. "I have some new designs that haven't been put out onto the showroom floor yet."

"Let me see what you have." The idea of gifting Elena with something truly spectacular appealed to Damon.

Zoya unlocked a safe and produced three different covered trays that she placed on the table. She carefully revealed the jewellery sets on each one and described them. "This is 18k rose gold with pink sapphires. I'm really pleased with this one. I think I might do more rose gold this year."

"It is very pretty." Damon thought it was the sort of jewellery that would look beautiful on Stefan's wife, but it wasn't right for Elena. His gaze slid to the next set on offer, a spectacular display of white diamonds and platinum, but it was the final set that really caught his eye. "Are these yellow diamonds?"

"Aren't they gorgeous?" She gingerly picked up the cascade necklace and draped it around her neck to show it off under the lights. "This was hands-down my favourite piece to design this year. I chose to keep the earrings simple so the main focus is on the necklace."

"It is perfect." He didn't even bother looking at the sky high price tag. All he could think about was how incredible the white and yellow diamonds would look against her gorgeous skin. "I will take it."

But as he left the jewellery store with his neatly wrapped packages, Damon couldn't shake the feeling that diamonds simply weren't enough.


	10. Chapter 10

"Elena, I'm going to the store." Enzo poked his head into the master suite where Elena sat waiting for Bonnie to model her next design. "That front door locks behind me and it doesn't open again until I get back. Understood?"

"Yep."

"If you need anything call me, okay? If I don't answer, call Damon."

"Got it." Elena thought he was going way overboard. Here in Damon's apartment, she was perfectly safe. No one could get onto this floor without one of the key cards and the two keys were currently in Enzo and Damon's wallets. "We will be fine."

"I will be back in less than an hour."

"All right. Bye."

"So what do you think about this one?" Bonnie announced as she paraded out of the master bathroom and modelled one of her designs. She walked the length of the bedroom and circled back. The camisole style of the top and the feminine flounce suited her thin frame. "I was a little worried about the length but I think I'm sold on this mid-thigh hem."

"It looks really good," Elena agreed. "That fabric is amazing." She touched the shiny metallic dots printed on the black background. "It reminds me of fireworks."

"It is fun, right?" Bonnie gave a whirl and laughed. "Speaking of fireworks, I want the whole story about you and Damon. Now that your bodyguard is gone, you can tell me all the juicy details."

Elena sat down on the bed and leaned back against the mountain of pillows. "There are no juicy details."

"Bullshit." Bonnie flopped down next to her and wiggled into place. "The guy came to your rescue, brought you to this million dollar apartment and nothing happened? Come on, Elena. I know you are, like, a Super Virgin, but you expect me to believe you weren't the teeniest, tiniest bit tempted by that hot Italian?"

"I was tempted, but after what Kai tried to do to me?" Elena touched her neck and felt the bruises there. "I really wasn't in that kind of mood, you know? Damon is always so respectful toward me and gentle. He was careful with me last night."

"If I ever see Kai, I'm going to run over him with my truck." Bonnie made a sad face and cautiously traced one of the ugly bruises. "He is such a piece of shit. It is too bad I broke it off with Jamie. He and the rest of his MC brothers would have put the hurt on Kai for this."

"Are you kidding me? Kai has a hundred heavily-armed drug dealers and gang members on his team. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. It is bad enough that I put Damon in this position."

"Honey, that man would have come running if you had stubbed your toe. I know I have teased you about the way he watches you, but I'm being serious now. It is clear to anyone who has ever seen you two together that h i's head over heels for you. After last night, what other proof do you need?"

Elena didn't dare believe Bonnie. It would hurt too much if she was wrong. "I kissed him last night," Elena finally admitted. "And then he kissed me this morning. Like really kissed me."

"I knew it!" Bonnie exclaimed triumphantly. "And then?"

"And then nothing," Elena said with a shrug. "He went to work."

"Well, maybe that is for the best after this," Bonnie said, gesturing to Elena's neck and cheek. "Slow and steady has always been your preferred mode. It has always steered you right in school and money so it is probably the best choice for a relationship." She hesitated before asking, "I mean, that is what this is, right? You two are dating now?"

"I don't know," Elena confessed with a rush of emotion. "I don't know what he wants or expects. He said this apartment was for his mistress, right? You know, like his kept woman or lover or whatever. But then he told me that it has been vacant since February so I thought he was trying to tell me that he has been waiting for me or maybe he wants something different this time."

"But?"

"But then last night, before we fell asleep, he made it pretty clear that he sees me as just his next mistress." Elena bit her lower lip and tried to ignore the ball of disappointment clogging her throat. "I told him I didn't know the first thing about being a mistress. He gave his list of ground rules, kissed me and left."

Bonnie winced with sympathy. "That is pretty cold."

"Right? It is like there is this wall," Elena said while drawing one in the air, "between him and everyone else. Last night, he asked me what I wanted. I swear it was as if he was afraid to ask for what he really wanted."

"What? Like it might make him too vulnerable? Because I could totally see that from him," Bonnie commented knowingly. "That man is driven by some powerful need to be successful and wealthy. He is all battle-hardened from his family background. Can you imagine how hard it must be for a man like that to let his guard down? To let someone like you inside? To put his heart at risk?"

The disappointment and fear dissipated as Elena listened to Bonnie. "If I hug you right now, I'm going to squeeze the air right out of your lungs." Elena laughed and let all that pent-up stress escape. "You are seriously the best friend who ever lived."

"I know," Bonnie said and jokingly polished her nails on her dress. "I am pretty amazing."

"You really are."

"You know," Bonnie said, leaning back against the pillows, "this is probably why he is so drawn to you, Elena. You two are exactly alike. You have always been afraid to get involved with a man because you saw the way your mother got knocked around and the way she let her boyfriends hurt you and Katherine. You have always been driven to be something great, to be somebody, to break away from your humble beginnings, and I bet it is the same for Damon. His father used to be a mob boss. God only knows what he has seen. I would be damned afraid of falling in love, too, if I had seen how truly terrible people can be to one another."

Everything Bonnie said made sense. "But how do I get through to him? Because, Bonnie, I really, really care for him, but I can't be just a mistress. I can't be this pretty little thing he dresses up in jewels and parades around town. I need to matter."

"You do matter, Elena. He is just fooling himself if he thinks he can keep you locked away up here like a fairy-tale princess. Deep down inside, he knows you aren't kept woman material." Bonnie sat up suddenly, as if a thought had struck her. "You need to be the best damned mistress he has ever had. You need to show him what he will be missing when you walk away." She climbed off the bed and crossed the room to grab her cell phone. "Because you do have to walk away, Elena. At some point, if he doesn't give you what you deserve, you have to get up and walk out."

"I know," Elena murmured sadly. "I thought about that all morning. It is so tempting to get caught up in this fairy-tale he is offering, but that isn't real life."

"No, it is not." Bonnie tapped away at her phone. "Okay. Seriously, you would not believe how many articles there on how to be a kept woman! This is wild, Elena."

"No." Elena pushed off the bed and shook her head. "I'm not playing by those rules. If I'm going to do this, I'm doing it my way."

"Yeah, but these women are like professional about it, Elena. They have tips and tricks and—"

"No. He told me that he wants me, just as I am, so that is what he is going to get. Me. Simple, quiet, unadorned me."

"That is all well and good," Bonnie said, tossing aside her phone, "but what are you going to do about the sex? Because last time I checked you have only rounded second base and that was when you flipped out on Matt Donovan the night we graduated high school and he stuck his hand in your panties."

"That wasn't the only place he stuck his hand," Elena muttered unhappily. "It hurt."

"He was a jerk. You shouldn't have let that one bad experience put you off sex forever. There were so many great guys you dated in college. They would have been good farm team sex partners, you know? Now you are in the big leagues, and you have never even hit a base run!"

"It is too late for what-ifs, Bonnie. I will just have to figure it out as I go."

"If I had to guess, Damon is one of those one-in-a-million lovers. Let him take the lead."

Elena laughed nervously. "Like I have any other choice!"

"Maybe we should watch some—"

They were interrupted by Elena's ringing cell phone. The sound of her sister's ringtone had Elena flying out of the bedroom and racing through the living area to reach her phone in time. She snatched it off the counter and answered in a breathless rush, "Hello? Katherine?"

"Elena!" Katherine sobbed her name. "Oh my God! Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay!"

Sagging with relief upon hearing her sister's voice, Elena leaned against the counter. "I'm okay."

"I heard about what happened to you last night, about what Kai did to you." Katherine wept. "I'm sorry, Elena. I never meant for any of this to happen. We just thought…We never…It wasn't supposed to go this way."

Elena's earlier anger with her sister vanished. "It is all right. I know you didn't mean for me to get hurt."

"But you did," Katherine sobbed. "You did, and this is all my fault."

"It is too late for that, Katherine. We don't have time for this. Where are you?"

"I'm hiding out in a hotel in Lake Dunham."

"Lake Dunham?" Elena was already calculating how fast she could get there. "Where is Mason?"

"I don't know." Katherine started crying again. "He went out to get some money, but he didn't come back."

Elena had a bad, bad feeling about that. "Listen, Bonnie and I are going to come get you. Okay?"

Appearing beside her, Bonnie nodded vigorously as she tugged on her boots and slipped into her jacket. She raised her voice, "We will drive all night if we have to, Katherine, but we will get you out of Virginia. We can hop on the interstate and get her to New Orleans."

"I will need money, Elena. I will need to go underground and stay off the radar."

"I will get it. Just hold on and wait for us, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Elena. Please be careful."

"I will be." After hanging up, Elena glanced at Bonnie. "Where the hell am I going to get cash this late on a Saturday afternoon?"

"Do you have your cheque book in your purse?"

"Yes. Why?"

"We will go see Abby at Kirkwood's Pawn. She will give you a fat chunk of cash. She knows you are good for it." Bonnie grabbed her arm when Elena started to run for the door. "Elena, are you sure you want to do this?"

"What are you talking about? Of course! She is my sister. She is scared. She is alone. She needs me."

"Yes, she does, but you promised Damon you wouldn't leave the apartment."

Elena's heartbeat pounded against her eardrums as she realized she had to choose between her sister, her flesh and blood, and the man who had risked his life to save hers, the man who had offered her protection and security, the man she had been secretly in love with for almost a year.

"If I don't help Katherine get out of Virginia, they will kill her. Giuseppe Salvatore sat right here in this kitchen and told me that last night. Katherine is a dead woman if she stays here." Elena's heart broke as she accepted that she was going to ruin everything with Damon even before it had really begun. "There is no choice here, Bonnie. I have to save my sister."

"Then we need to move," Bonnie urged and thrust Elena's hoodie into her hands. "We need to get out of here before Enzo gets back."

Like a couple of spies trying to escape a covert operation, they took the stairs down eleven floors rather than risk running into Enzo. By the time they reached the parking level, they were breathless and promising each other that they would take up CrossFit because they were so weak. Somehow they managed to avoid seeing anyone in the garage but that didn't stop Bonnie from racing out of there like a bat out of hell in her truck.

"This is one of those times where you really want to thank your lucky stars we have networked so much," Bonnie said as they pulled into the parking lot across the street from Abby Kirkwood's pawn shop. "Bet you never thought all those business major mixers we went to would lead to this."

"No, I sure didn't." Elena hopped out of the front seat of Bonnie's truck and waited for Bonnie to join her before dashing across the street and into the shop.

Thankfully, it wasn't very busy. There were a handful of customers milling around the place, most of them in the electronics section. Elena had hoped to run into Marley, her neighbour and a long-time employee of the pawn shop, but she didn't see her anywhere.

"Elena! Bonnie!" Abby Kirkwood stepped out from behind the jewellery counter to come over and give us big hugs. "It is good to see you! Are you here to pick through my vintage handbags again?"

"Oh, don't tempt me!" Abby had some really fantastic fashion items come into the shop. Elena had been lucky enough to grab a vintage Chanel 2.55 last Christmas for a steal. "But, actually, um, I was hoping you could cash a personal cheque for me." Elena didn't see any reason to beat around the bush. "I recognize it is asking for a big favour but—"

Abby smiled knowingly and slid her arm around my shoulders. "Come over to the window."

Bonnie stayed behind to look through the showcases of jewellery while Elena walked with Abby to the bulletproof windows at the rear of the store. Leaning close, Abby whispered, "I heard about your sister. Whatever you need, it is yours."

"Thank you, Abby," Elena whispered right back and blinked away grateful tears. "I feel bad asking, but all the banks are closed so—"

"It is not a big deal. I know your cheque is good." She squeezed Elena's shoulder. "I will even give you a break on the interest," she teased with a playful wink.

While Abby unlocked a door and entered the reinforced and protected cashier area, Elena walked down to the open window and began filling out a cheque. She hesitated when she got to the amount. How much would Katherine need to survive in a new city? How long would she be unable to work? Elena made a hasty calculation and wrote out the five figure amount. She decided not to think about how long it would take her to earn all of that back. Her sister's life was worth every penny in her bank accounts. Elena would give them all to Katherine if it meant she would stay alive.

Abby glanced at the check after she pushed it through the small opening in the bulletproof window. She didn't even blink at the amount. "I will have to do a mix of big and small bills. Is that okay?"

"Yes, it is fine. Whatever works for you, Abby."

"All right. Hang on. I will be right back." She disappeared into a locked room where Elena assumed they kept their safe.

She glanced back to see Bonnie inspecting gold chains. It wasn't the type of jewellery she liked to wear so Elena suspected she was looking for something to use in a clothing design. Feeling anxious and exposed, she looked around the shop, counting and recounting the customers. She didn't recognize any of them, but the paranoia gripping her made her sensitive to every glance.

"Okay," Abby said as she reappeared at the window with a stack of bills still wrapped in their bank yellow, purple and brown bank bands. She counted it out for Elena twice before placing the money inside shopping bags. "Can I see your ID, please?"

"Yes." Elena slipped it through the small window. While shewaited for Abby to record the necessary information, Bonnie wandered over and joined her. "I guess you didn't see anything you wanted?"

"Nah," Bonnie said and then nervously looked over her shoulder. Moving closer, she whispered, "There is some guy watching us. Don't look back!" She hissed when Elena started to turn her head. "Brioni suit? Bruno Magli boots? This guy isn't part of Kai's crew or those backwoods skinheads. I can't see any tattoos on his hands or neck. I don't think he is part of the Italian crew either, but he looks dangerous and familiar."

Mouth dry, Elena smiled at Abby who gestured towards the locked door after pushing her ID back at her. "Let me come around and meet you. I will have one of my security guys walk you out to your vehicle."

"Shit," Bonnie whispered frantically. "That guy is coming towards us. Keep walking. Keep walking."

Just as Abby stepped onto the main floor, she looked behind them and broke into a wide grin. "Logan! I didn't know you were stopping by today!"

"I thought I would come into the store and browse." When he stepped into view, Elena noticed that Bonnie's dangerous description fit the man perfectly. He wasn't as tall as Damon or as muscular, but there was a menacing, intimidating air about him. Her internal alarms went crazy. She needed to get away from this man and quickly. "I never know what might catch my eye."

"Uh-huh," Abby dryly remarked. "Marley is not working this weekend so your eye will just have to keep on wandering." She pressed the bag of money into Elena's hands. "Take care of this."

"I will." Surprised by the weight, Elena held it close to her chest.

"Elena, Bonnie, do you two know Logan? He is, um, a very successful local businessman," Abby said with obvious amusement. "But we won't talk about what type of business he is in because this is a family friendly store."

Logan laughed. "You make it sound so scandalous, Abby. They are just clubs, and it is only dancing." He turned his full attention to Elena. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Elena, but I think we have a good friend in common."

"Oh?" Elena asked weakly, already knowing the answer.

"Damon." He studied her closely. "I have to admit I'm rather surprised to see you." His gaze flicked around the store. "Is Enzo waiting for you outside?"

"That is none of your business, Mr Strip Club Owner," Bonnie interjected forcefully, "and we have got somewhere to be." She put her hand between Elena's shoulders and propelled her towards the exit. "See you around, Abby."

"Wait! Let me get a security guard—"

"No need," Bonnie said quickly and pushed Elena forward. "We are fine."

"Thank you, Abby," Elena called over her shoulder as Bonnie hustled her out of the store. When they hit the street, Elena glared at her. "That was rude!"

"Oh hell," Bonnie grunted. "I remembered why he looked so familiar to me. He is a loan shark, Elena. He used to run a book for the Mystic Falls mafia thugs over at the Black Eagle Club. He is one of the bastards who used to own my dad's debt. He took our boat and our car and my horse." She hurried across the street at Elena's side. "He is one of the reasons Daddy put that rope around his neck in our barn."

"Oh, Bonnie." Elena hated that such awful memories had been dredged up for Bonnie. She had been fifteen when her father had hanged himself in the barn where she had kept her beloved horse—the horse he had been forced to give to Logan only a few days earlier. "I'm so sorry."

"It is not your fault. Nobody made Daddy gamble or embezzle. He did that himself." Bonnie wrenched open her truck door and hopped inside. As she cranked the engine, Elena buckled her belt. "But assholes like that made it too easy. They took advantage of him when he was down. They kept feeding him credit because they knew they could collect on all his collateral, even after he died."

As she hit the gas, Logan stepped out of the pawn shop, a cell phone pressed to his ear, and watched them drive away. Never one to go quietly, Bonnie actually rolled down her window and shot him the finger. "Vulture!"

"Oh my God! Are you crazy?" Elena twisted in her seat to see the gangster's shocked reaction as Bonnie punched the accelerator and tore down the busy road. "You just sat here and told me that guy is affiliated with the mafia. Are you seriously trying to pick a fight with someone like that?"

"I'm not afraid of people like that anymore." Bonnie gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm over being pushed around by criminals."

Still aghast at the trouble Bonnie had probably made for herself, Elena pulled her phone out of her purse and called Katherine. She didn't answer so Elena texted her for the name of her hotel and the address.

 _Hey! We have the cash. We are headed your way. Be ready to leave as soon as we get there. What is the address?_

"Why isn't she answering?" Elena asked, worry edging into her voice.

"Maybe she is almost out of battery. Maybe she is in the shower. Maybe she went out to grab something from a vending machine." Bonnie reached over and gave Elena's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't panic. I'm sure everything is okay."

"I hope so."

A few seconds later, Elena's cell phone chirped with a message alert.

"What did she say?" Bonnie asked.

"She is at the Dunham Motel." Elena opened a map app on her phone and punched in the name to get directions. "Take the road to Lake Dunham."

"I got it," Bonnie said. "It is nearly five, and it is getting dark. It's going to be a long drive."

"We will trade off behind the wheel."

Elena's phone started to ring. It was Enzo. She ignored the call, but guilt gnawed at her. Staring out the window, she chewed on her thumb. "Damon is going to be so angry with me."

"Yep." Bonnie didn't even bother trying to convince her otherwise. "I would suggest you wait to call him until we cross the state line. By the time we get your sister situated in New Orleans and make it back to Mystic Falls, he will cool down."

"No, he won't." Elena's stomach churned violently as she accepted the truth of the situation. "I said I trusted him. I told him I would stay put and let him protect me."

"Yeah, you did. He swore to protect you. He didn't say anything about your sister. He can't expect you to sit in that apartment, living the high life, while your sister gets her throat slit by some cartel hit man."

Elena ran her thumb up and down the screen on her phone. "What if there is another way? What if he can help her?"

"You need to stop second guessing your decision, Elena." Bonnie glanced away from the windshield and held Elena's gaze. "You told me what happened last night with Giuseppe. As far as Damon's mafia family is concerned, Katherine is as good as dead. If you call Damon, if you tell him where she is, do you really think he is going to choose between the mafia family and you?"

"He won't betray me. He is not like that."

"No, he probably wouldn't, but at what cost?" Bonnie bit her lip and shook her head. "You are his mistress, his girlfriend. Sort of. You are not his wife. The loyalty he owes you doesn't come close to what he owes the mafia family. You are a bright, shiny new thing in his life. That history he has with the mafia family? That shit goes way back, Elena. Can you imagine what the mafia family will do to him if he finds out that Damon knew about your sister? That he helped you get her out of the city?"

A shudder rocked Elena right to the core. "I don't want Damon to get hurt." Thinking of her safety, she added, "I don't want you to get hurt either."

"We will be fine."

She couldn't tell who Bonnie was trying to convince more.

"He will forgive you," she insisted. "He will forgive you for this."

Feeling sick, Elena sadly murmured, "No, he won't."

"Don't say that."

"It is the truth. That wall he built around himself? The one I was telling you about earlier? The same things that made him build that wall are the same things that will make it impossible for him to forgive me for this."

Damon was such a complicated man with a dark and complex history. The rules he had given her this morning weren't so much about control as they were about testing her commitment to him. Like Elena, he had spent a lifetime being disappointed and hurt by people. Unlike her, he had chosen to protect his heart by closing it off and only allowing himself to indulge in these romantic arrangements with mistresses, these easily controlled emotional transactions.

Elena was officially the worst mistress in the history of the world. She hadn't even lasted one full day. He would see her decision to go after Katherine as a betrayal of everything he had done for her. She was flinging it all back in his face, and he would punish her by turning his back on her and sending her away.

"Don't get all weepy on me." Bonnie playfully punched Elena's arm. "I'm all out of tissues, and I don't want you getting snot on my new dress."

"I'm not going to cry." Elena blinked rapidly to clear away the wetness threatening to spill onto her cheeks. An hour ago, they were excitedly discussing her blossoming relationship with Damon but now? She was sitting here bereft and silently planning its funeral.

Angry with Katherine, Elena clenched her hands together on her lap. She would get Katherine out of the state and give her a clean start, but then she was on her own. Elena couldn't keep doing this. She couldn't allow her sister to drag her down again. This had to be the final time.

Glancing down at the navigation screen on her phone, Elena motioned to the next exit. "Get off at Centre Street."

Bonnie followed her directions until they found the rundown motel. "Holy hell," she exclaimed as they turned onto the property. "I have seen motels in horror films that looked nicer than this."

Elena couldn't argue with that observation. Only one light worked in the parking lot. From what she could see, the mouldy green paint was peeling and half of the windows didn't have drapes. Her jaw dropped when she saw a hooker walk out of a room still fastening her shirt. Her skirt was hiked up around her thighs so high Elena could see that she wasn't wearing underwear. She combed her fingers through her stringy hair before sliding into the front seat of a car driven by a man Elena could only assume was her pimp.

"Jesus," Bonnie breathed in horror. "This place is a cesspool!"

"Let's just grab Katherine and get out of here."

"Which room is she in?"

Elena looked at her message and then at the numbers on each door. "Fourteen. Over there."

"Hang on." Bonnie swung the truck wide and backed into the closest spot. "We aren't sticking around here any longer than necessary."

"Stay here." Elena flicked off her belt and tossed her phone onto the dashboard. "I will grab her, and we will get the hell out of here."

Bonnie looked around nervously. "Hurry. This place gives me the creeps!"

Elena practically jumped out of the truck and ran to the motel door. She knocked twice. "Katherine! Katherine, it's me. Come on! Let's go."

The rattle of a door chain met her ears. A moment later, the door opened—and a pair of hands grabbed the front of Elena's hoodie and hauled her inside the motel room. Before she could scream, a hand cruelly slapped over her mouth, muffling the sound as she kicked and flailed wildly. With a rough shove, she was thrown face down on a bed. The scent of mildew and much, much worse filled her nose. Elena pushed off the dirty, smelly blanket and lost her balance, rolling off the bed and onto the floor.

As she tried to make out the shapes in the darkened room, she heard a tussle near the door. Bonnie was thrown through the door and fell onto the stained carpet. She scrambled towards Elena on hands and knees. Eyes wide, she latched onto Elena's side and gripped her hand.

And then the very last face Elena ever wanted to see appeared in the open doorway.

With his broken nose and black eyes, Kai looked like he had been in one hell of a fight. The hatred etched into his face warned Elena not to make a sound or any sudden moves. Her heart stuttered when she noticed he held the same paperweight she had used to beat him unconscious. The door slammed closed behind him, and he smiled evilly at them.

Elena thought the fear she had experienced last night had been the worst of her life, but she was wrong. She experienced a whole new level of terror as she realized that Kai and his two henchmen were going to kill them. There was no chance of escape tonight.

They were going to die in this dirty, filthy motel—and Damon would never know how much she cared about him or how sorry she was for disappointing him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Give him an extra grand on the trade," Damon said as he glanced at his watch, "and get this deal closed. He has had Jake tied up on this sale for six fucking hours." He hated these doctor pricks who swaggered onto the sales floor with big dreams and even bigger demands but maxed-out shit credit.

"Do you want to keep this one on our lot?" Peter asked as he handed off the signed deal sheet to the salesman working with the surgeon.

"No. Get it detailed and serviced. Send it over to James. We move a lot of BMWs at that dealership. It will be a fast turnaround."

"Done."

Damon's gaze moved to the windows. The sun was setting, and the clouds seemed heavy and ominous. With the threat of bad weather and the ongoing issues with Kai's crew, he didn't think taking Elena out to a restaurant was a good idea. Still wanting to do something special for her, he decided he would pick up a nice dinner for them. He patted his pocket in a search for his cell phone so he could ask her what she would like, but his phone was missing.

He must have left it upstairs. On the way to his office, he was side-tracked twice to give approval for two more deals. His instincts had been right. The afternoon and early evening had been busy and productive.

When he walked into his private space, he could hear his phone vibrating and rattling on his desk. He hurried across the room and snatched it up. "Hello?"

"Where have you been?" Enzo demanded. "I have been trying to reach you for almost an hour!"

Not liking Enzo's tone, he asked, "What is wrong?"

"She is gone."

Damon thought he must have misheard. "What? Who is gone?"

"Elena," the street soldier said with exasperation. "I came back from the store, and she was gone."

Damon's stomach dropped, the swooping sensation threatening to drop him. Had she been kidnapped? Had she opened the door for a delivery and been grabbed? "Did someone break into the apartment? Did someone get by the concierge and the security?"

"No. I went down and asked to see the security tapes. I found Elena and that troublemaking friend of hers running down eleven flights of stairs. They raced out of the parking garage." He exhaled with disgust. "I knew that friend of hers was bad news. I could smell it on her."

"Where are you now?" Damon didn't want to panic. _Stay calm. Think this through,_ he said to himself. "Did you go by her house?"

"I went there first. The neighbours haven't seen her since she left yesterday. The nosy lady who lives a few doors told me where Bonnie lives. One of her kids is doing a fundraiser and Bonnie's address was on the form."

"And?"

"The girls aren't here."

"Damn." Fury surged within him, blackening his heart with smouldering soot. "I told her to stay put. What the hell is she doing?"

"I don't know, but I haven't got the first clue where I should go now. I have called her six times. She isn't answering."

Was she dodging Enzo's calls or was she unable to answer because something terrible had happened to her? Damon's anger was quickly replaced by fear. If she had been caught by Kai's men…

He scoured his memories of their conversations for a hint of any place she might go. She didn't have many places to hide. "I don't care who you have to call or what it costs. Get men out on the street looking for her."

As soon as the phone call ended, Damon immediately dialled Elena. When she didn't answer, he dialled again and gathered up his things. He flew down the stairs, pausing just long enough to tell Peter that he was in charge for the night, and raced out to his SUV. He let the Bluetooth connection pick up his third try as he left the lot and stayed on the line to leave a voice message.

"Elena, I don't know where the hell you are, but you need to call me right now. This isn't a game. You are in danger. Call me."

Without any idea where to go, he hopped onto the road leading to the town centre. Dread pooled in his belly as he watched the setting sun. The thought of Elena wandering around the city at night with that fluorescent target painted on her back was enough to make him ill. _Where is she?_

His phone began to ring, and he punched the button on his steering wheel to answer it. "Yes?"

"Damon, it is Logan."

"Look, Logan, I don't have time—"

"You will make time for this," the mafia boss interrupted. "You will never guess who I just saw at Kirkwood Pawn."

His gut clenched. "Who?"

"That luscious dark-eyed beauty of yours," he said with what could only be described as glee. "My men told me she was pretty, but they were wrong. That woman is stunning. I can see why you wanted to keep her a secret."

"Cut the bullshit, Logan. Is she still at the shop?"

"No. She was in a hurry to leave with that rude little friend of hers. She had a bag full of money. Probably ten or fifteen grand. Easy."

"What?" Damon's mind raced. "Why the hell would she need that much...?" His voice trailed off to nothing. Swearing, he slapped the wheel. "She has gone after her sister."

"I figured as much," Logan agreed. "Luckily, I had Jet with me as a driver. I sent him after them. He thinks they are headed to Lake Dunham. The last time he checked in, they were near the lake."

"Hell." Damon cursed. "I'm heading that way. As soon as Jet gives you a location, call me."

"I will. I'm waiting for Devil to pick me up and then I will join the hunt."

Clenching the wheel, Damon tried to keep his temper in check. He was furious with Elena for leaving the safety of the apartment, for ditching Enzo, and running out on her own. _Why didn't she call me when she heard from her sister?_ Damon thought. _Did she not trust me?_

"Because she doesn't trust you," he muttered angrily. Trying to ignore the pain in his chest, he didn't want to admit to the feelings that had him all twisted up inside. Weak, he silently berated himself. _She has made you weak._

Damon tamped down his wildly vacillating emotions and walled them away in that cold pit he had mentally constructed years ago. He had no idea what to expect when he found Elena and needed to be able to think clearly. Later, when he had her safely back in the apartment and he was back at his own home, he would allow himself to sort through his feelings.

When his phone started to ring again, he answered it quickly. "Yes?"

"Jet says they just turned into a motel near the lake. It is a shit hole. He spotted a couple of Hermanos parked at the tire shop half a block down. There is an SUV parked at the car wash that he recognizes. It is one that Ben modified for Kai."

Jesus Christ. Whatever anger Damon felt towards Elena evaporated in that moment. Did she have any idea that she was walking into a trap? Would she even know what to look for? After what had gone down with Kai last night, that little bastard would be bloodthirsty for revenge. How much damage could he inflict in five minutes? In ten?

Desperation took hold. "Which motel?"

"Spanish Trail. Be careful, Damon. We are stuck behind an accident. The rain is heavy this way. We will get there as fast as we can."

Damon smashed the accelerator and dialled Enzo. He didn't even utter a syllable before Enzo talked over him.

"Yeah, I know. She is at Spanish Trail. Jet called me. I'm almost there. Less than ten minutes."

"I'm closer."

"Don't do anything stupid before I get there. Giuseppe will kill me if anything happens to you."

The line went dead, and Damon zoomed around a truck. A light drizzle was falling now, slicking the road and forcing him to be more cautious. Wrecking a few blocks from the hotel wouldn't help Elena.

When he raced onto the parking lot, he hastily sized up the situation. There seemed to be twenty rooms. Maybe half of them were rented and probably to drug addicts or whores. Whatever was seen or heard tonight would be easy enough to cover up with a liberal application of money—or so he hoped.

He spotted the SUV that probably belonged to Kai. Those shiny rims practically blinked at him. The idling truck was a different story. Did it belong to Elena's friend?

The sight of a heavy-set guy in a black T-shirt rolling into the middle of the lot caught his attention. A moment later, Jet appeared from behind a parked car. He wiped at his bleeding mouth before giving the downed man a good kick. Two more men ran at Jet, but the gangster just laughed and leaped back into the fray. Damon threw his SUV into park and bailed out of the driver's seat. He rushed towards Jet but the enforcer shook his head. "I have got this."

A woman's scream erupted from behind a closed door. A heartbeat later, Damon heard Elena shouting, "Don't touch her!"

Tunnel vision overwhelmed him. Not fearing what he might find on the other side of that door, he ran towards it and planted his foot right above the handle. With a crack, the door slammed open and right into the back of one of Kai's thugs. Using the momentum of the kick, Damon rushed forward, grabbed two handfuls of leather jacket and swung the thug right out into the now pouring rain. He rammed the bastard head first into the tailgate of the idling pickup and dropped him to the pavement.

Spinning around, he stormed into the hotel room and faced off with another one of Kai's henchmen. He blocked the punch that flew at his head and buried his fist in the other man's paunchy belly. The guy he fought was younger but stupid and unskilled. He was no match for Damon who had years of fighting experience on his side. A couple of punches to the ribs and a knee to the face finished off his opponent. He threw him right out the open door.

Amid the squeal of tires that signalled Enzo's arrival and backup for Jet who was still fighting those three men, Damon whirled back to face his next opponent—and found himself staring right into the barrel of Kai's gleaming Five-seveN.

"No!" From the space between the dingy beds, Elena jumped in front of him, putting her small, fragile body between his and Kai's.

"Elena!" Damon tried to grab her and throw her out of the way, but Kai pointed the gun right at her head. Damon froze, suddenly fearful that any move would provoke the wild-eyed kingpin. What the hell was she thinking? Kai would kill her.

"You are not going to hurt anyone else that I care about," she stubbornly stated. "I'm the one you hate. You punish me."

Damon desperately wanted her to be quiet. Kai was clearly a man on edge. He had a crazy gleam in his eye, and Damon feared there was more going on here than just a man hell-bent on revenge against the young woman who had humiliated him.

"Oh, I'm going to punish you," Kai promised. "Maybe I will start right here." He swung the gun towards Bonnie who was crouched on the floor next to him, her nose bloodied and her eyes wet with tears. She flinched, as if expecting to be shot, and then he swung the gun back toward Damon's head. "Or maybe I will spray your boyfriend's brains all over the wall."

"No!" Elena stepped forward, right towards Kai, and drew his aim. "You are not going to hurt them."

"I'm going to hurt you," Kai promised, his evil gaze raking Elena from head to toe. "All night long," he added nastily. "Maybe I will record it so Damon can see how a real man makes a woman scream."

Infuriated that Kai would even think to threaten such a thing about Elena, he growled, "The only—"

"If you let Damon and Bonnie walk out of here right now," Elena talked over him, "I will go with you. I will walk out of here without a fight, and I will do whatever you want."

"No!" Damon couldn't allow her to prostitute herself, to bargain with her body and her life, for him. "You aren't going anywhere unless it is with me."

"Be quiet, Damon!" Elena glanced back at him, her dark eyes pleading with him. "It is my turn to save you."

"This Italian bastard was dead the moment he decided to take you from me," Kai snarled. "You are mine. You have always been mine."

"I was never yours," Elena retorted with disgust.

"You. Are. Mine." Kai annunciated each word. "You were bought and paid for when Katherine took my money to fund this little scam of hers."

Damon watched as Elena's shoulders slumped with shock. He couldn't quite believe it either. Suddenly this whole mess was more twisted and tangled than he had ever imagined.

"Fine," Elena said with resignation. "You are right." She seemed desperate to please Kai now. "I'm yours. I'm all yours." She said the words the wannabe kingpin had wanted to hear for months and months. "Just let Damon and Bonnie leave, and I will be yours as long as you want."

"No!" Damon couldn't allow it. He would take a bullet to the brain before he let Elena leave with Kai.

But he wouldn't have to make that choice. He had been so intent on watching Kai and that damn gun that he hadn't noticed Bonnie inching along the edge of the bed until she was directly behind the drug dealer.

In a flash of dark hair and with a banshee's scream, she hefted up a blood-stained crystal paperweight and slammed it right into the back of his head. When Kai lurched forward, Elena rushed him and grabbed his wrist, shoving the gun's muzzle toward the ceiling.

"Elena!" Damon cursed loudly and raced to intervene. "No!"

Bonnie swung the paperweight high and cracked Kai on the side of the head this time. Just then, a bright bolt of lightning hit nearby and lit up the room with a shocking blast of light. A heartbeat later, a crack of thunder shook the paper-thin walls of the motel. In that same instant, Elena threw her knee into Kai's stomach—and the gun fired.

The eardrum piercing crack of the bullet momentarily deafened him. Amid the muzzle fire, Damon spotted a burst of blood. His heart stuttered painfully in his chest. He grabbed Elena by the shoulders, picking her up and swinging her out of the way and onto the closest bed. Unable to breathe, he frantically looked her over. There was blood all over her skin. His fingers slipped in the messy stuff, but he couldn't find the source. "Where did the bullet hit you?"

"I'm okay!" Elena shouted hysterically. "I'm okay. It is not me."

There was blood on her face, neck and chest but it wasn't hers. Before he could fully process how the blood had gotten on her, Bonnie screamed again. Like a woman possessed, she hit Kai with the paperweight, this time between the shoulder blades. The drug dealer slumped forward and flopped onto the ground.

Blood poured out of his mouth and pooled on the carpet. In the struggle, Elena or Kai had caused the weapon to fire and a bullet had ripped through his face, entering just under his chin and taking off most of his lower mouth and jaw. Kai's limbs shuddered wildly, as if he was having a seizure, and then he expelled a ragged, noisy breath. Had the bullet lodged in his brain? Had the multiple blows from the heavy crystal paperweight finally killed him?

With a sob, Bonnie dropped forward onto her knees. The crystal teardrop hit the carpeted floor with a loud thunk. Elena scrambled off the bed and half-crawled, half-stumbled her way to her best friend. She wrapped her arms around Bonniee and rocked her like a mother would a small child.

"Holy shit."

Damon whirled around at the sound of Logan's voice. The boss stood in the doorway of the motel room, his hair wet from the rain and the hem of his neatly pressed trousers soaked. Devil, his face a ruined mess of scars, stood behind his boss and looked on with little emotion. Like Sergei, Devil had been hired for his size and strength and his ability to intimidate with nothing more than a glare.

Without taking his eyes off the mess in front of him, Logan ordered, "You need to get her out of here, Damon. Right now. I will deal with the mouthy black woman."

"Oh, no you won't!" Elena growled like a mama bear, her voice so filled with hatred that it stunned Damon. "You aren't touching Bonnie. You already killed her father. I won't let you hurt her."

Completely confounded by Elena's accusation, Damon shot his attention to Logan who seemed totally thrown by the charge. He tilted his head, studying Bonnie's face, and then recognition dawned. "You are Rudy Bennett's little girl. The one with the horse."

"I'm not so little anymore." Bonnie stood with Elena's help and roughly wiped at her wet nose and cheeks, smearing Kai's blood on her skin. "And you took my horse, you asshole."

Logan didn't take kindly to anyone calling him names. "Your father was the asshole who got into debt he couldn't service. No one made him bet on those games or races. No one made him come into the club to play cards. He put that rope around his neck because he was a failure as a provider, a husband and a father. Don't even think about putting that shit on me."

"Boy, you are real tough, aren't you? Stealing a little girl's horse? Having your thugs beat up my daddy? Taking the life insurance money and the house and driving a sick woman and her kid into a homeless shelter. You are just some big gangster hero, aren't you?" Bonnie stepped over Kai's bent legs and raised a fist as if to strike Logan. "I have already taken out one gangster tonight. Maybe I will go ahead and make my score an even two."

Damon moved in front of Bonnie, shielding her from Logan's wrath, and Elena grabbed her friends arm, desperately pleading for her to hush. "She has had a shock," Damon insisted. "She doesn't know what she is saying."

"She better learn to keep that mouth of hers shut unless she wants Hector Salas to send one of his hit squads after her—and Elena," Logan added with a threatening edge.

Because there were years of friendship and history between them, Damon understood Logan wasn't actually threatening to hurt Elena. The boss was trying to put the fear of God into Bonnie, to make her shut up and get in line.

"She will be quiet." Damon cast a warning glare at Bonnie who eventually nodded stiffly.

Devil edged his way into the room and unfurled the tarp. "Lorik and Jet have the Hermanos boys tied up and tossed in the back of Bek's Tahoe. I sent Lorik with Bek to stow them away at the safe house until you decide what to do with them."

Damon wondered if those five men understood their lives were held in Logan's hands now. What the mafia boss would do was anyone's guess.

"Do you have any cash on you?" Logan patted his pockets. "Because I'm clean out."

"I have a little," Damon said, already reaching for his wallet. "But not enough to buy the silence of an entire motel."

"I have money." Elena rubbed at the drying blood spattered on her cheek. "It is on the front seat of Bonnie's truck. It should be more than enough."

Logan glanced at Jet who lingered in the doorway waiting for orders. "Get the money and bring it to me. Then take the loudmouth home and sit on her until I have secured her safety."

Wordlessly, Jet left the doorway and returned a few moments later with the sack of cash. He handed it to Logan and then motioned for Bonnie to join him. She walked towards him on shaking legs. Jet tugged the black hood on her jacket over her blonde hair. It was a surprisingly gentle action from a man with a ruthless, cold-hearted reputation. "Can you drive?"

"Yes."

"I will follow you, but we are taking the back roads. Got it?"

"Yes." She glanced back as if seeking Elena's approval.

Elena nodded encouragingly. "I will be okay. Go."

When Enzo's familiar face appeared in the doorway, Damon grasped Elena's upper arm and guided her toward the street soldier. "Get her out of here. Take her back to the apartment. Get her cleaned up, but don't let her out of your sight."

Seemingly stunned by his callous regard, Elena blinked at him. "Damon—"

He ignored her entreaty and kept his gaze focused on Enzo. "Take away her phone. I don't want her contacting anyone."

"Come on." Enzo clasped her hand and tugged her out of the dingy motel room. "Move."

The hurt etched into her beautiful face bothered him, but he wasn't going to show her an ounce of kindness or softness right now. She had deliberately broken his rules. She had put not only her life but her friend's in danger. Kai Parker was dead, and there would be hell to pay for this, from Hector Salas and the cartel, from Diego and the Hermanos street gang loyal to Kai, from Giuseppe for upsetting the fragile balance of power in the city and from the police who would no doubt start sniffing around when Kai's disappearance became public knowledge.

"I will deal with this. You contact Giuseppe." Logan thumbed through the cash in the bag. Damon hated to even think about how long Elena had worked to earn that money. "You should get out of here before anyone recognizes you."

He cast one final glance at Kai's now lifeless body before heading for the door. When he reached it, he paused and looked back at the room. "Where is Katherine? Elena must have come here looking for her so where is she? Was she ever here?"

Realizing they might be one girl short, Logan looked under both beds and then in the bathroom. When he came back, he said, "It looks like she went out the back window. The glass is broken, and there is blood." He waved a cell phone. "She left this behind. Do you want to give it to Elena?"

Damon took the phone from Logan and tucked it away in his pocket. Looking around the room, she said, "If you find anything else that belonged to Katherine in this room, trash it."

His instructions given, Damon put his head down and ventured into the stormy night. The rain was cold and miserable and so heavy, but the lightning and thunder were useful. With all the noise of the storm, the fight and gunfire seemed to have gone unnoticed by the other occupants of the rat hole motel.

Sitting behind the wheel of his SUV, he inhaled a long, steadying breath. He needed to find a pay phone as far away from here as possible. Giuseppe's fury would know no bounds tonight. All of the pain and punishment for this would land squarely on his shoulders. He had claimed Elena as his—and now he had to pay the price.


	12. Chapter 12

Shaking from the cold rain and an adrenaline rush, Elena pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her hoodie and crossed them against her chest. She burrowed down into the warmth of the slightly damp fabric and wondered if she would ever stop trembling. Enzo's wild driving wasn't helping any. Every time her teeth stopped chattering, he would veer around another vehicle or stomp the gas even harder. "Can you please slow down? You are going to wreck and kill us!"

"Oh, now you are worried about people getting killed, huh?" Enzo glared at her. "Jesus Christ, Elena! Do you have any idea what you have done? God, if you were my girlfriend, I would toss you across my lap and beat your ass for this stunt!"

"If you were my boyfriend, I would throw myself out of this moving car before I let you hit me!" Elena slid closer to the door, almost as if threatening to do it.

"I didn't mean it like that." Enzo reached over and smacked the lock button on the doors, just in case. "Don't be childish."

"Don't be such a jerk! Do you think I wanted this to happen?"

"I don't know what to think about you anymore. I thought you were a smart girl. I thought you understood what Damon was risking for you. I was wrong. You just shit all over everything he did for you. Do you have any idea what the mafia family is going to do to him? What Hector Salas is going to take from him?" Enzo shook his head. "You have ruined Damon."

The guilt Elena felt for helping take a life, even if it was the life of a miserable, cruel man, was nothing compared to the new guilt she experienced upon fully accepting her responsibility for hurting Damon. What would the mafia family do to him? Would they have him beaten up or worse? And what would Hector Salas want? Money? His businesses? His home?

Fresh tears burned her eyes. Flashes of the fighting and the gunshot and the horrible gurgling noise Kai made as he died tormented her. She still couldn't make sense of any of it. How had everything gone so bad so fast?

Katherine was still missing. Her best friend had helped her kill someone. Damon was going to lose everything he had worked so hard to build. It was all Elena's fault.

 _You have ruined everything._ Suddenly, Elena was ten-years-old and cowering in a corner as her drunken mother screeched at her for running off her latest boyfriend. It didn't matter that Elena had caught him trying to hurt Katherine or that he had tried to put his hands in her shorts. Her mother had been so furious with her. The awful things her mother had said still cut deeply, the wounds unhealed and forever sore and bleeding.

She rolled her shoulders as the phantom strikes of the extension cord her moth had whipped her with made her skin crawl and sting. _Stop thinking about that. It is over. It is done. She is gone. She can't hurt you anymore._

Too soon, they arrived at the parking garage. Enzo pulled into the second assigned spot and shut off the engine. He looked Elena over and then shrugged out of his leather jacket. "Put this on and cover up that blood. Pull up your hood again and keep your face down. You have got Kai's blood all over your face."

"I know." The stickiness and the coppery stink of it turned her stomach. Desperate for a shower and a good scrub, Elena did what Enzo told her and followed him up to the apartment.

After grabbing a trash bag, he marched her right into the master bathroom and started a hot shower. "You know the drill. Strip. Put everything in here. Toss it out the door when you are done."

"Even your jacket?" Elena asked, eying the expensive leather with guilt.

"You got his blood all over it. It is going to the incinerator."

"Enzo, I'm sorry for—"

"Spare me," he meanly retorted. "Just get clean." He tossed the garbage bag onto the vanity and walked toward the door. Pausing there, he turned back to her. "Didn't I tell you that you needed to keep him happy? Didn't I warn you?" He exhaled roughly. "I would strongly suggest you spend the time you have thinking about all the ways you can make this up to him. Or at least figure out a way to keep him happy tonight," he added. "Because if he puts you out on the street? You won't make it to sunrise, Elena."

His warning given, Enzo stalked out of the bathroom. The door slammed behind him, and Elena jumped. Heart racing and stomach churning with anxiety, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. The bruise on her cheek was now decorated by dried specks of blood. Every time she breathed, she smelled the acrid stink of the gunfire. Her eardrums still ached from the close proximity of the shot.

Again and again, she replayed the moments before the gun fired. Kai's finger had been curved against the trigger. Her hands had been wrapped around his wrists. He had either jerked the trigger when she kneed him in the stomach or when Bonnie whacked him with that paperweight he had been using to threaten them. Technically, he had shot himself but she feared that was a thin, weak defence.

What happened if someone decided to talk to the police? Damon, Enzo, Logan and his crew—they were all highly recognizable men in the underworld. Elena feared a taste of hush money would be just enough to whet the appetites of the motel occupants. They might resort to blackmail or worse to get more money.

Would the police believe her if they picked her up? Would she even survive a night in lockup while the facts were sorted out? There were probably a dozen cops on the cartel payroll and twice as many inmates in the county jail ready to stab her in the neck for what she had done.

 _You are panicking. Calm down. You can't change anything now. It is done,_ Elena reminded herself.

She shrugged out of Enzo's' jacket, peeled off her hoodie and jammed both into the garbage bag. The rest of her clothes followed. Naked and shivering, she stepped into the shower and let the hot water blast her skin. She couldn't get to the soap fast enough. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was raw and sensitive and then shampooed and rinsed her hair three times just to make sure every single strand had been stripped of Kai's blood.

While she let conditioner soak in, she touched her forehead to the milky white marble and closed her eyes. _Where are you, Katherine? Are you still alive?_ Elena figured Mason had ratted her out and Kai had gone after her. She had either escaped before he could grab her or she had been kidnapped and hauled away before Elena had arrived.

Remembering what Kai had said before he died, Elena wondered how deep the identity theft scam really went. She suddenly understood why he hadn't fought to protect Mason after the scam had been uncovered by Mr Marko. He must have known that it was only a matter of time until his connection was made public, either by a panicking Katherine or a scheming Mason. Letting Marko's men hunt them down and kill them meant they would be silenced quickly.

But it hadn't worked that way. Mason and Katherine had escaped. Elena suspected Kai had planned to use her as bait to draw Katherine in and silence her. That hadn't worked either. It had all blown up in his face—literally.

Done with her shower, Elena dried off and wrapped up in the towel. She poked her head out of the bathroom door and discovered Enzo leaning against the door frame, texting someone. He glanced up at her and then back down at the screen. "Where is your phone?"

"Bonnie's truck," she answered, still hiding behind the door.

"If you are lying to me—"

"I'm not!" Shocked by the way Enzo was treating her, Elena snapped. "Oh my God, Enzo! Yes, I made a huge mistake, but I'm still the same girl who watched reality TV with you last night. I'm the same girl you pinched with chopsticks at lunch when I stole one of your dumplings. I'm the same girl who taught to punch holes in leather this morning."

"And I'm still a street soldier who takes orders and does what he is told," he retorted simply. "You made your choice. These are the consequences."

"So what? I'm a prisoner now?"

Enzo shoved his phone in his pocket and levelled a no-nonsense look her way. "I would be very careful using that argument with Damon. This so-called prison of yours is a hell of a lot nicer than the ones he knew."

Neatly put in her place, Elena swallowed nervously. "Will you please step outside so I can get dressed?"

"You have five minutes. Bring that bag of clothing to the living room."

After Enzo left, Elena tried not to break down into tears again. He was right. If this was her punishment, it was so much better and easier than what she probably deserved. She was safe here, and no matter how angry Damon was with her when he came back, he would never hurt her. He was probably going to yell but he wouldn't put his hands on her.

She quickly slipped into the only nightgown that Damon had packed for her. Feeling underdressed, she picked up the hooded sweatshirt she had been wearing last night and put it on, leaving it unzipped and wearing it like a short-hemmed robe. She grabbed the bag of soiled clothing and left the bedroom.

Enzo actually glanced at his watch as if to reinforce that the rules were different now. He took the bag of clothing from her hand and gestured to the kitchen. "You should eat something. Toast, juice, an orange—you need to put some food in your stomach. After that, we are going to talk about your alibi. Then you are going to sit quietly on the couch and wait for Damon. Understand?"

"Yes." Elena understood perfectly. The bright promise of a future with Damon and the glimmer of friendship she had hoped to share with Enzo had been shot to hell with one stupendously bad decision.

x x x

Parked in the rear section of a junkyard owned by one of Logan's people, Damon waited for Giuseppe. He wanted to be anywhere except here, but he had been given his orders so he here sat. Glancing at the clock, he made a face. How much longer was this going to take?

Damon drummed his fingertips on the dashboard and scanned his dark surroundings. The heavy rainfall obscured most of his vision. Already on edge, he stared hard at the shadowy shapes of stacked and crushed cars and tried to decide if he was really seeing movement or not. It would be so easy to ambush him.

He wasn't a man prone to nervousness but tonight? Damn, his stomach was in knots! This was two nights in a row Giuseppe had been dragged in to deal with problems caused by Elena or her sister. If his father wasn't in a very charitable mood, it could be disastrous for her.

The longer he sat here, the more Damon worried. What if he had been sent here by the mafia family so Enzo could take Elena to some remote location? What if the mafia family double-crossed him and handed her over to Hector Salas as a peace offering?

 _They wouldn't do that to you. Stop panicking._

But if Damon was wrong, if his trust in the mafia family had been misplaced, he would never forgive himself for the cold, callous way he had sent her away.

Just when he started to despair, a pair of headlights bounced off the dented grille of a car. He leaned forward and spotted first one SUV then another and another and another. When it was all done, there were two SUVs parked on either side of his and four surrounding them. He recognized the guard vehicles driven by Danila and Ilya as well as the Escalade that had brought Logan and the silver Land Rover that Giuseppe preferred but the ice white G-Class was unknown to him.

Street soldiers poured out of their vehicles, some of them taking up positions facing out toward the junkyard to keep watch and others hustling to open doors for their bosses. Wes hopped out of driver's seat of the Land Rover and quickly popped open an umbrella. He hurried to Damon's door and rapped his knuckles on the glass.

Answering his summons, Damon stepped out into the rain and grimaced as cold, dirty water rushed around his ankles. Wes shot him a look before gesturing with a jerk of his head. Shielded by the umbrella, Damon crossed the short distance to Giuseppe's vehicle and slipped into the passenger seat open next to the boss.

A moment later, the driver's door opened and Logan slipped behind the wheel. As Logan combed his fingers through his wet hair, the front passenger door opened and none other than Hector Salas slid onto the empty seat there. Surrounded by some of the most dangerous men in the city, Damon wondered if he was going to end up shot and tossed into the trunk of a car.

"You really know how to celebrate a man's birthday, Giuseppe," Hector Salas remarked with a dry laugh. Not yet thirty, the former cartel enforcer had carried out a coup against Lorenzo Guzman with ruthless efficiency. Reputed for his Machiavellian intelligence, he had the good looks of a model and the well-honed body of a fighter. It was no surprise men had been willing to betray their leader for him. He was the sort of man other men emulated and followed. "I didn't even have to blow out my birthday candles to get my wish."

Thrown by Hector's comments, Damon glanced at Giuseppe. The harsh expression on his father's face warned him to keep quiet.

"This wasn't the way I or the mafia family wanted this go down," Giuseppe finally said. "We needed more time to groom your man and get the pieces in place before Kai was neutralized."

As if sharing Damon's confusion, Logan twisted in the driver's seat for a better look at Giuseppe. "When did we greenlight a hit on Kai?"

"We didn't," Giuseppe replied. "Not yet."

"Is there something I'm missing?" Logan asked, clearly exasperated.

"That raid on his house for that dog fighting ring put him on my shortlist, but finding out he tried to rape some girl backstage at a concert?" Hector picked at something on the lapel of his jacket. "That was the last straw for me. Brutalizing women isn't part of my rulebook. I won't allow it."

Damon's estimation of the young drug lord rose a few notches.

"Look, my business is moving product to the right salesmen and keeping my customers happy and satisfied. That's it," Hector said. "Kai was always a greedy little bastard, skimming and taking and running his side deals. I turned a blind eye to it when I needed him to take on Lorenzo, but when that was done, I warned him to cut that shit out and walk the line. He thought he was smart enough to run his games behind my back, but I see everything. This bullshit with Mason and the identity theft? It is too much heat. This is the kind of shit that will send the FBI and INTERPOL right up my ass." Hector slashed his fingers in front of his throat. "That puto? He needed to go."

"We didn't bring this to the council because the hit was never supposed to happen here." Giuseppe's irritated glare made the fine hairs on the back of Damon's neck stand right on edge. He had seen men on the receiving end of that look before and it never ended well. "We were going to wait until Kai was in Hector's territory, down south of the border. Romero was going to take care of it."

"It is easier to spin my version of the tale down there." Hector turned in his seat and smirked back at them. "But I guess your girlfriend wanted to become part of the underworld legend."

"Elena didn't kill him," Damon insisted. "Neither did her friend. They were trying to defend themselves. Kai shot himself while he was fighting Elena for control of the gun."

When Giuseppe glanced at Logan for confirmation, Logan nodded. "It looked that way to me and Devil. The gun was still in Kai's hand when he fell. His finger was wrapped around the trigger. So, technically, Kai iced himself."

"Technically isn't going to sell very well on the streets," Giuseppe warned. "Those five men you picked up at the hotel? The ones you have tied up in your warehouse? They have big mouths and loud voices. All we need is one street thug with a soft spot for Kai. He can make this very messy, very fast."

"They will see things my way—or they won't see at all." Hector jabbed two fingers toward his eyes. "When they find out how much money Kai was hoarding while they were starving on the streets? Their loyalty will vanish." He snapped his fingers. "So you let me deal with them."

"What do we do about the power vacuum?" Logan unwrapped a jawbreaker and tossed it in his mouth. "The last thing we need is violence on the streets."

"There won't be a vacuum," Giuseppe promised. "Hector is going to talk to Diego as soon as we are done here. He is the obvious choice and the best man for the job. He has worked his way up from the streets to the top of the Hermanos hierarchy. He understands the men who work for him, and he has earned their loyalty and their trust."

"He is quiet," Hector said. "He is not flashy. He believes in discipline. Hewill keep things quiet and calm."

Seemingly reassured, Logan visibly relaxed. "What do you need from me?"

"Show your support to Diego," Hector ordered. "Keep your men in your territory. The last thing we need is an incident while things are unsettled."

"I will look up Nickel when I leave and get him on board," Logan offered. "Do you want me to hit up Marko?"

Giuseppe shook his head. "I will handle him."

"What about the motel?" Hector turned his attention to Logan. "Do you need my help with the cover up?"

"It is done—and it cost me nothing," Logan remarked with a bit of amusement. "Damon's girlfriend took care of that."

"What?" Giuseppe shifted in his seat. "What does that mean?"

"It seems that Elena was headed to the motel to help her sister escape the city." Damon hadn't asked her for the details but he had assumed that to be the most likely scenario. "She was able to get her hands on ten grand at Abby Kirkwood's pawn shop. By the time she arrived at the motel, her sister was gone and Kai was waiting for her. She offered her cash as hush money."

"Where is the sister?" Giuseppe asked the question on everyone's minds.

"We don't know," Damon admitted. "There was blood in the bathroom. She left her phone. We think she ran."

"Or Kai kidnapped her and his men dragged her away somewhere before Elena and her friend got there," Logan proposed an alternative theory. "We just don't know."

Giuseppe blew out a frustrated breath. "That is a loose end that needs to be clipped—and fast."

Before Damon could even try to plead for Katherine's life, Logan said, "I will take care of her. Leave it to me."

Something about the way Logan so quickly leapt at the chance to have that job bothered Damon. Was there something else going on with Katherine that he didn't know?

"What is the punishment for Elena and her friend?" Giuseppe put the issue that concerned Damon the most right on the table. He held his breath as he waited to see what the others would suggest. "My vote is that they get a pass. These were extraordinary circumstances."

"I want this to end here," Hector interjected firmly. "These two girls? I want them to walk. Untouched," he clarified. "They have my guarantee of safety and protection. This shit ends tonight. There has been enough bloodshed in this city. Let's end the year on a better note than we started. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Logan rolled the jawbreaker around his mouth, knocking it into his teeth. "Let's put this to bed."

"Then it is settled," Giuseppe declared.

Sagging with relief, Damon leaned back against his seat while the three bosses talked out a few minor details. Hector exited the vehicle first. Logan left a short time later. Alone with his father, Damon blew out a pent-up breath. "I know that sorry doesn't even come close to apologizing for all of this."

"It is done, Damon. Leave it." He rapped his knuckles on the window, signalling Wes. "Put on your seatbelt. We are going for a ride."

Not liking the sound of that one bit, Damon did as told. He glanced back at his still running SUV and wondered if the damn thing would even be there when they got back. Waiting for Giuseppe to say something, he stared out the window and tried to figure out where they were going. Very quickly, he realized they were headed back to the motel.

As if reading his mind, Giuseppe said, "We had to call in some professional help for this one."

The Professionals. Four anonymous brothers who proffered their services to Mystic Falls' underworld and the city's elite. The Collector. The Fence. The Cleaner. The Liquidator. They were men who were whispered about but never seen. Even the evidence of their crimes was nearly impossible to spot.

Up ahead, the blink of red, white and blue lights from emergency vehicles caught his attention. A police cruiser blew by them, the siren squawking so loud he winced. Wondering where it was headed, Damon leaned forward for a better look. A violent wave of orange streaked the dark night sky and took his breath away.

The Spanish Trail motel was totally engulfed in flames.

Jerking back, he glanced at Giuseppe in shock. "Why?"

"What else could we do? There were too many unknowns and too much risk. Was Elena's blood on the carpet? Was the friend's? What about the sister? What the hell were we going to do with Kai's body? That isn't a death we can sweep under the rug, Damon. This isn't a man that can just disappear."

Giuseppe had his lucky lighter in hand now. He flicked it opened and closed as he gazed out the window at the destruction he had wrought. "This was the best choice. Tomorrow, when the sun is up and the flames are out, they will find Kai's body and the right gun and that's it."

"The right gun?"

"We have a weapon in our possession that was used during Hector's coup earlier this year. The bullet that killed Kai tonight was removed and his gun was destroyed. The other gun was used to fire some bullets into the body and the wall. The cops will trace these rounds and the gun left at the scene to the deaths earlier this year." He brushed his pant leg as if to sweep away lint. "It will keep them busy chasing their tails while we deal with the transition."

It was all discussed so calmly. Damon had forgotten how blithely his father decided these things despite he had created a new, clean life for himself. There was still mafia's blood in his father. Who lived. Who died. Who to frame. It was a simple act of arithmetic for him.

"But the fire, Dad," Damon protested. "It is dangerous. The motel guests—"

"No one died in this fire. The brothers took care of it. It was all very clean."

"God, I hope you are right." Damon cringed as Wes slowly glided through an intersection and away from the frantic scene. Another fire truck raced toward the blaze. He prayed no firemen were hurt tonight. That was a guilt he didn't want on his conscience or Elena's. "Fire is nasty business."

"It is never my preference," Giuseppe admitted, "but these were extenuating circumstances. Once Logan took a step back and truly considered the situation, he knew there were too many risks if he tried to haul that body out of there. We are just lucky this all happened in the dark, in a shitty part of town, and in a rainstorm where it is easier to manage the spread of the fire."

"What happens to the people who were living in that motel? Where do they go now?"

"Marko is about to get some new tenants in his apartment complexes." He snapped his lighter closed and dropped it into his pocket. "You can expect that bill soon."

Damon swore under his breath but accepted the out of pocket costs for housing those people were a small price to pay. Considering how badly this might have gone for Elena, he didn't dare complain. It seemed uncouth to call tonight's events a stroke of luck, especially when one man was dead and someone's business had just been burned to the ground, but he silently called it that.

"I swear our lives were never this complicated before we started welcoming all these women into our inner circle," Giuseppe grumbled. "Who would have thought falling in love would be so complicated?"

Out of habit, he started to correct his father, to laugh at the very notion that he was head over heels in love with Elena, but the reality of what had happened in the last forty-eight hours slapped sense into him. There was no point in lying to himself or trying to convince anyone else that what he felt for Elena was anything less than love. It had crept up on him so slowly over the last year that he hadn't even recognized the subtle shift from infatuation to friendship to love.

"Vanya, Dima, Yuri, Sergei, Stefan, you…Who is next? Danny?" Giuseppe laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever. "Hell, maybe it will be Ten!"

Up front, Wes snorted with amusement. Damon shook his head at the outlandish idea. "I don't think there is a woman alive who can tame Ten."

"Stranger things have happened," Giuseppe replied. "So—is it true? Did she really step in front of a gun for you?"

Damon's heart stuttered as the memory of Elena jumping in front of him flashed before his eyes. "Yes, she did."

"She must love you very much."

"I don't know about that." Damon didn't dare hope that Elena's action was proof of her love for him. "She is a good person. She would protect anyone from a bully like Kai."

"Yes, but she protected you. She saw you fight for her last night. She knows what you are capable of doing, but she still stepped in front of a possible bullet for you. That was an action spurred by the heart," Giuseppe touched his chest, "not the head."

"She should listen to her head more," Damon said, suddenly uncomfortable talking about all of this with his father. "I'm not the type of man who knows what to do with a woman's heart."

"You will learn." Giuseppe stretched out his legs. "I know what you are thinking. You think no one could possibly love you because of the terrible things you have done, but you are wrong. We are all worthy of love. Even the worst of us," he murmured. Their gazes clashed in the shadows of the rear seats. "A woman like Elena is an extraordinary find, Damon. It takes a big heart to love men like us, and those big hearts are easily damaged. She messed up tonight. That is not up for debate—but we have all made big mistakes in our lives. We have all done things we wish we could take back."

They drove in silence, all three occupants of the Land Rover thinking of their misdeeds and blunders. When they pulled into the junkyard, Giuseppe inhaled a deep breath. "Go home to her. Scold her if you must but show her love tonight. She needs to feels safe again. Her entire life has fallen apart in the last two days. She needs you to be her rock. Give her something to cling to," he urged. "A woman who will throw herself between you and a gun? That is a woman you should deny nothing and give everything. Even if you lose everything tomorrow, Elena will walk beside you."


	13. Chapter 13

His father's powerful counsel made Damon's head spin. As he drove away from the junkyard he couldn't stop thinking about everything Giuseppe had said. Though he was still angry with Elena for taking such a risk and for defying him, Damon understood why she had made the decision to go after her sister. Hadn't he done far, far worse and stupider things to save Stefan or Giuseppe in the past?

When he entered the apartment a short time later, he discovered Elena seated at the island in the kitchen and staring at a bowl of melted ice cream. Enzo sat on the opposite end of the polished slab, his expression hard and his arms crossed. Frosty was the first adjective that came to mind. The cheerful, easy friendship that he had witnessed between the pair last night had vanished.

"What is going on here?" Damon dropped his gym bag on the floor and glanced back and forth between them. Elena lifted her head, and her swollen, red eyes helped him fill in the blanks. Thinking of the cruelty she had known as a child, he cast a sharp glance at Enzo. "What did you do to upset her like this?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly. As if terrified to make either of the men in the room angry, she smiled brightly but it didn't reach those beautiful eyes of hers. "We are fine. How…how are you?"

"No, Elena. We aren't doing this." Damon slashed his hand through the air. "You and I have always been honest with each other. You don't ever have to pretend with me."

Elena swallowed and bit her lower lip. She gripped the edge of the counter so tightly he feared her thin, delicate fingers would snap. "I'm sorry, Damon. I'm so sorry."

The words were whispered so softly he barely heard them. Certain they were on the verge of some new development in their relationship, he glanced at Enzo and hooked his thumb back towards the door. "Go home."

Enzo gathered up his things and the garbage bag of ruined clothing. "She left her phone in the friend's truck. I can pick it up tomorrow."

"That is fine." He followed Enzo to the door and locked it behind him. When Damon returned to the kitchen, he took a deep breath and finally met Elena's anxious gaze. Hating to see her looking so wounded and afraid, he insisted, "I'm not the men who abused you when you were little. I'm not going to hurt you. There is nothing for you to fear from me. Ever."

"I'm not afraid of that," Elena assured him, her voice steady but soft. "I know you won't hurt me…even though I nearly got you shot and dragged you into that nightmare at the hotel."

"I dragged myself into this mess, Elena." Damon combed his fingers through his hair and expelled a loud breath. "Look, I am angry with you for risking your own life. You had no business in that motel! You had no business going after your sister! You know what these people are like. You are a very smart woman. Why the hell would you go after Katherine like that?"

Blinking rapidly, Elena said in a tremulous voice, "I thought I could get there quickly and get Katherine out of Mystic Falls. We were going to take her to Baton Rouge or New Orleans."

"You were going to drive to Louisiana? With your sister? The girl who has a price on her head?" His blood pressure shot through the roof. "And then what, Elena? What was the plan?"

Elena shrugged nervously. "I don't know. Leave her there with some money and burner phones, I guess. She would have to figure out the rest herself."

"And what did you think I was going to do when I came home and you were gone?" Had she considered the rampage that would have followed that discovery? The damage he would have done to this city to find her?

"I was going to call you and explain everything."

"That call would have come too late. Enzo had already called to tell me you were missing. I was gunning for Kai. Because that was what I assumed, Elena. I assumed he had gotten his dirty hands on you—and I was ready to kill him."

Her eyes widened at the strident tone of his voice. Had she truly doubted his reaction? Didn't she understand how far he would go for her?

"You can't do that, Damon." Elena was deadly serious now. "Promise me you will never cross that line for me."

"I can't. I won't. You are mine, and there is nothing I won't do to keep you safe."

She exhaled a shocked breath. Then, shaking her head, she said, "If I'm yours, why did you send me away with Enzo? Why didn't you come with me?"

Remembering his father's advice, Damon said, "I shouldn't have dismissed you like that, Elena. I shouldn't have sent you away from the motel without making sure you were okay. It won't happen again." He cleared his throat. "I know that you are sensitive about these things. I should have been more careful with you."

"No, Damon." Elena shook her head. "I should have been more careful. After everything you have done for me, this was the way I repaid your kindness. I—"

"You don't owe me anything." Damon needed her to understand that. "This isn't a relationship built on debts and payments."

Her grip on the counter eased as she seemed to accept what he was telling her. "I should have called you, Damon."

"Yes, you should have."

"I should have trusted you to help me again."

"That's what hurts the most." His admission seemed to surprise her. "After everything we went through last night, you went off on your own instead of coming to me. You said you trusted me—"

"I do trust you!"

"Do you?" Damon wasn't so sure. "If you had trusted me, you would have called me the moment you heard from your sister."

"I trust you to be good to me, but I didn't know what you would do if I told you about Katherine," Elena tearfully confessed. "I'm sorry. I know how awful that sounds. I really do! But it is the truth. You promised you would protect me but your father sat here last night and he made it clear that Katherine is dead to him. I couldn't take the chance, Damon. I didn't want to force you to choose between helping me and being loyal to your father."

As she sobbed out her explanation, Damon finally grasped her position and her reasoning. He couldn't blame her or punish her or scold her for any of that. She was right. What would he have done if she had called him? He would have run to her side in an instant but Katherine? He would have tried to help her, but he wouldn't have crossed his father to do it. It was an ugly, painful truth to acknowledge but there it was.

"But you still came for me," Elena murmured, almost in awe. "You came for me again, and you saved me."

"You don't need to keep testing me, Elena. I gave you my word. I will never break it."

Certain her reluctance to trust him completely would be the biggest stumbling block for their continuing relationship, Damon decided to leave it for tonight. He might have discovered that he loved her, but she was clearly in a different place. There was no point in rushing or pressuring her. He had waited nearly a year just to kiss her. He could wait as long as she needed for all the rest.

"I need to shower." He wanted to hold her, to feel her skin beneath his hands, but he was filthy from the mud and rain. "We will talk more when I'm finished."

"May I come with you?"

It seemed to take a great deal of bravery for Elena to ask that. Sometimes she struck him as so incredibly naïve. Damon was beginning to question how much experience she actually had with men.

"I don't want to be alone. I know how silly that sounds but…"

"You are not silly." Damon held out his hand. "Come here, Elena."

Elena glided towards him, her footsteps silent and light, and grasped his hand. Her fingers were cold, and her hand trembled in his. Damon was taken aback by the realization that she had been so afraid that she was shaking.

Had she been sitting here waiting and worrying that he would put her out on the streets? That he would leave her to fend for herself? That he would turn his back on her because she had made a bad choice and a stupid mistake?

Enzo.

The answer came to him instantly. Of course.

The street soldier had probably been filling her head with all kinds of bullshit. Damon decided he would set Enzo straight in the morning.

Her fingers tightened around his hand, and she stepped into his personal space. She pressed her cheek to his chest and slid her other arm around his waist. His breath caught in his throat as she burrowed into him, seeking his warmth and protection. He encircled her and drew her in even closer.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Damon."

A choked laugh escaped his throat, the sound muffled by her thick hair. "After the last two days, I don't even want to think about what you would do."

Elena released him slowly and tipped her head back. Gazing up at him, she had the most vulnerable look on her face. The surge of affection he felt towards her left him reeling. But this wasn't simple affection anymore. Nor was it infatuation. No, it was something else. It was exactly what his father had guessed.

He kissed her forehead and then backed away from her. "I need to get clean."

"Enzo took my clothes from earlier. What are you going to do with yours?"

He glanced down at his messy pants and ruined shoes. "I will have to get rid of them tomorrow."

"I will go grab a bag for you."

Damon entered the bathroom and stepped into the private toilet area, locking the door behind him. When he was finished, he stepped out of the room and found Elena sitting on the counter. His appreciative gaze lingered on her crossed legs. The hoodie she was wearing had ridden up to mid-thigh and revealed an incredible swath of silky brown skin that he wanted to touch. Holding out the trash bag she had fetched from the kitchen, she seemed wholly unaware of the effect she had on him.

Standing in front of her, he toed off his shoes and peeled off his socks. He tossed them into the bag and then slipped out of his jacket. He hated to lose another of his favourite suits, but it had to go. They couldn't risk any evidence tying them to that motel. His belt and shirt followed. When he started lowering the zipper on his pants, he noticed the way her gaze flicked from his waist right back up to his chest. She seemed determined not to look.

Wanting to tease her a bit, Damon asked, "Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"About?" Her eyes were fixed on his face now.

"Whether it is boxers or briefs?"

Elena shot him a saucy look. "Knowing you? You are probably commando under those pants."

Damon laughed as he stepped out of his pants and dropped them in the bag. He gestured to his boxers as if to say, "See?"

Elena rolled her eyes and gave the trash bag a little shake. This time she let her gaze wander down his chest until it settled on his waist. There was no mistaking the way she was breathing a bit faster now. If he put a hand to her neck, he expected to feel her pulse pounding under his fingers.

He stripped slowly, drawing his boxers off in an effortless sweeping motion. He wasn't hard—yet—but he had always been proud of what he considered his rather impressive offering to the women in his life. It struck him suddenly how very strange this was. Usually, he was the one sitting fully clothed while his mistress disrobed for the first time. He was always the one enjoying the strip show.

But, then, Elena wasn't a typical mistress, was she? It was no surprise she had gotten the best seat in the house and her own private show tonight.

Naked as the day he had been born, Damon strode to the shower and adjusted the knobs until he had the right temperature. He stepped inside the shower and felt the chill of the tile under his feet. The hot water spewing from three showerheads quickly steamed up the oversized space. He grabbed the bar of soap he kept here and lathered it between his hands.

"Damon?"

"Yes?" He spread soapy foam along his chest.

"Do you think Katherine is still alive?"

His hand stopped halfway down his stomach. He couldn't lie to her. Not after everything they had survived in the last two days. "I don't know, Elena. There was blood in the bathroom. She left her phone behind."

"A lot of blood?" She seemed afraid of the answer.

"No. If I had to guess? She probably cut herself trying to get out that small window. I think she is still alive, and I hope she is smart enough to lay low for a while. She has everyone looking for her now."

"Even that Logan guy?"

"Everyone," he repeated.

"You two go way back?"

"Me? And Logan?" Damon took special care to clean his hands and feet, not wanting any lingering blood or mud under his nails. "Our families have known each other for years. Even before we came to Mystic Falls," he added. "We ran in the same circles back home."

"Oh." She didn't sound particularly impressed by that but didn't press for more information. "Damon, where is Tirana?"

"Albania." He glanced out the foggy shower door. Still seated on the counter, she had her head down and seemed to be drawing shapes on the marble. "Why?"

Elena lifted her head and met his gaze through the steamed-up glass. "Enzo said something yesterday about Tirana and Katherine. I wasn't sure what he meant."

Tirana? Katherine? Damon had a bad feeling Enzo meant that Katherine's secret buyer for the information she had stolen was none other than Zec. Which explained why Logan had been so helpful about finding Elena's sister!

"Tell me about Bonnie and her history with Logan." He stepped under the nearest showerhead. "What the hell was all that back at the motel?"

Elena didn't answer him immediately. He suspected she was trying to sort out her loyalty to Bonnie and her desire to be honest with him. Eventually, she said, "Bonnie's dad was an investment guy. I'm not really sure what his job title was exactly, but he managed a lot of money for really wealthy people. She used to live in Richmond in one of those stupid crazy huge mansions on the golf course there."

Damon grinned at her description of the area. That particular development was the ritziest in the State of Virginia—and that was saying something. He had briefly considered settling there when he had been in the market for a home, but his ties to the mafia family and the rest of his "family" had proven too strong to break. Now he lived a few blocks from his father in one of the newer homes in Mystic Falls' most expensive zip code.

"Anyway," she continued, "her dad got into some trouble gambling and betting on horses and sports, I guess. He started stealing from clients, and the whole thing blew up in his face. Logan was the guy who came and took her horse, their vehicles, the boat and all of her mother's jewellery and paintings. Her dad was indicted a few days later and hanged himself that night." She got quiet. "Bonnie found him swinging a rafter."

Damon went still under the water. It was a horrible tale. "That must have been very difficult for her." Now he understood why Elena's friend had reacted so badly at the motel. "But she can't go around threatening him like that, Elena. He isn't like my father. He doesn't make exceptions for women. He is hard—and dangerous."

"I think, deep down inside, she is still that scared but really angry little girl," Elena said. "She didn't just lose her dad and their home and the life she had always known. Her mum was really sick when all that money trouble started. She had ovarian cancer."

He reached for the bottle of shampoo. "Is she still alive?"

"No. Apparently, there is a strong family history of ovarian cancer in the family. Bonnie did think about removing her ovaries."

"Didn't she want children?"

"She wants to have babies but she will remove her ovaries before she turns forty. The risk is high when the woman turns forty if she has the gene."

Damon wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was getting to an age where thoughts of children were occurring to him more and more often. Watching Stefan become a husband and Sarah got married and pregnant had awakened something in Damon that he didn't quite understand. He had gone to visit Dimitri and Benny after the birth of their daughter, and holding that baby had sparked something unexpected in him. Not a desire to start a family, exactly, but a curiosity.

"Her mum was so sick when they got kicked out of their house. I met Bonnie when she transferred into my school. They couldn't afford the tuition to the private school she went to, and they were living in a women's shelter here in Mystic Falls that was zoned for my school. We met in home economics. I had smuggled in a copy of Vogue, and she wanted to look at the dresses while I looked at the handbags and shoes. Within a couple of days, we were sketching outfits together and dreaming about owning a business someday." Her voice drifted off for a moment. "Her mum died a few weeks later, and my own mum split a few months after that. I think those experiences pretty much sealed our bond as friends forever."

Hearing that made him worry. If she considered Bonnie a sister, what would she do to keep her friend safe? Would she get in between Bonnie and Logan if those two went after it again? The thought of all the trouble their friendship could cause down the line had him vowing to schedule a sit down with Logan in the next few days. The mafia boss needed to understand how far Damon would take things.

Finished with his shower, he switched off the water and stepped out onto the mat. He grabbed a towel from the nearby shelf and wiped his face and hair before dragging it along the back of his neck and then securing it around his waist. He caught her staring at him. Recognizing that gleam in her dark eyes was easy enough.

 _She wants me,_ Damon thought.

Even though he ached to be with her, to connect in the most intimate way possible after everything they had survived tonight, he refused to be the one to make the first move. He didn't want any regrets, not after they had both waited so long to be together.

As if reading his mind, Elena held out her hand. "Damon?"

It was an invitation he couldn't refuse. In three long strides, he was in front of her. She took his hand in hers and dragged him closer. Her other hand touched his chest, gliding over his skin until it stopped along the side of his neck. She pulled down gently, and her lips finally touched his in a gentle, seeking kiss.

But when her tongue shyly flicked at his, all thoughts of going slow, of taking this one step at a time, of doing this differently were incinerated. Not wanting to overwhelm her, Damon tore his mouth away, but she wouldn't have it. She peppered ticklish kisses along his neck and jaw and slid her hands to his shoulders. Every kiss, every touch, caused a wild flare of need.

"If you keep that up, I'm taking you to bed," Damon warned. He wasn't sure if she understood what that meant. He doubted she had ever been with a man who shared his tastes. Tonight, it might be too much for her.

Elena answered him by winding one slim leg around his waist and hooking her heel against his thigh. Leaning back and meeting his heated gaze, she said, "I'm ready."

With two softly spoken words, she shattered his control. Tangling his hand in her hair, he crashed their mouths together in a burst of pent-up desire. She mewled, that kittenish sound traveling through him and settling right in the bottom of his stomach.

Tonight. Tonight, he was going to give her exactly what she wanted and everything he needed.


	14. Chapter 14

Elena couldn't breathe. Her heart was beating like a panicked hummingbird's. With shaky fingers, she clung to Damon's broad, powerful shoulders as he kissed her like a man starving for affection. Maybe he was. Or maybe he was feeling that earlier rush of adrenaline fade after their harrowing experience at the motel. Did he crave the heat and touch of another person as she did?

Something had changed in him. Something she had said or done had flipped an invisible switch. Elena was finally seeing the passionate, dominant man that had always been hinted at but never revealed. She had given him the permission he needed, and now he was totally in control. She didn't think she wanted it any other way. Not tonight. Not her first time.

Her first time.

Surrendering to the stab of Damon's tongue, Elena whimpered softly and clawed at his bare back. A deep growling sound rumbled from his throat, and he picked her up off the counter. While their tongues danced, he guided her legs around his waist before settling his big, strong hands on her bottom. Holding her close, he walked towards the bedroom.

This was really happening.

Elena panted against his mouth and nipped at his lip. He repaid her for that little bite with a swat that left her ass stinging. She clenched her thighs, squeezing his waist and drawing another groan from him. He murmured something before unceremoniously dumping her on the bed.

"Damon!" Elena squealed with surprise and excitement as she bounced on the mattress.

Damon threw back his head and laughed as she pushed up on her palms and waited to see what would happen next. He walked around the bed and turned on the nearest lamp, illuminating the room in a warm glow of light. Able to see her fully, he raked his gaze along her form and then dropped the towel wrapped around his waist.

Elena swallowed hard when she saw his cock. It was every bit as thick and long as she had expected, maybe even more. As if tired of watching her study him, Damon crooked a finger and gestured for her to crawl towards the edge of the bed. She knew what he wanted even before he asked, but she wasn't sure she could satisfy him. The mechanics of giving head were easy enough, but she hadn't every actually done it.

When she reached the edge of the bed, she waited to see what would happen next. Should she tell him? Would he want to know that they were sailing into actual virgin waters here? Worried that he might stomp on the brakes, she decided to keep the status of her V Card a secret for now. She didn't want this night to stop. She wanted this. She wanted it with him.

 _Fake it._ She could hear Bonnie's voice in her head as she considered her next move. _Just fake it._

Emboldened by desire and curiosity, Elena shamelessly grasped his shaft. Damon growled and pressed into her hand, wordlessly urging her to stroke him. So she did. She slid her hand from the blunt tip all the way down to the base of him before gliding it back down again. Hot. Hard. Soft. Steel. She explored him with her fingertips.

Touching him like this, Elena had a better feel for his length and girth. A quiver of panic stabbed her stomach. There was no way around it. This was going to hurt. Even if she was one of those lucky girls who had a relatively easy first time, putting something this big inside her was going to an experience she would never forget.

But right now she was more interested in seeing how he would react when she licked him…

Leaning forward, Elena grasped the base of his shaft and swiped her wet tongue along his penis. Staring up at him, she sucked the tip between her lips. Damon gazed down at her, his blue-grey eyes smouldering, and his breath coming in sharp pants. She might not have the skills of his former mistresses, but he clearly enjoyed what she was doing. Her confidence growing, she used her tongue to paint his shaft and then tried to suck him a little deeper this time.

Damon let loose a loud groan of approval. "Open your mouth a little wider, baby." Elena relaxed her jaw, and he sighed. "Darling. Yes. Like that."

He gathered her hair in one of his hands, drawing it to the back of her head, and gently thrust into her open and willing mouth. She tensed up, suddenly afraid he would take things too fast or too hard, but he was careful as always, reminding her yet again why he owned her trust. He wasn't going to hurt her. He wasn't trying to debase or degrade her or force her to do anything she didn't want or like.

Damon took his time enjoying her mouth. His cock glided across her tongue with slow, measured thrusts. He caressed her face with his free hand and continued to hold her hair with the other. Every now and then, he slid a little deeper, almost as if to test her, and each time she swallowed every inch he offered. Something about pleasing him, about making him groan and pant, invigorated and excited her. She liked knowing that she could make him feel like this.

"Look at me," Damon ordered in a strained voice. Elena glanced up at him. Lips stretched wide around his cock, she locked into his lascivious gaze. He pushed deeper into her mouth, so far back that she felt her throat start to tighten. A momentary quiver of panic rattled her core, but she shoved it down. _He won't hurt you. Relax. Feel. Enjoy._

"Elena." His nostrils flared, and his breaths were heavy and fast now. "You look so beautiful like this." He retreated ever so slowly, dragging his cock out of her mouth until just the tip remained. Elena tightened her lips around him, refusing to let him go just yet. He groaned and then said on a harsh breath, "Suck. Darling. Harder. More."

Elena gave Damon what he wanted until it was too much. He drew back with a sharp intake, pulling free from her mouth and panting for air. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he hauled her upright until she was kneeling. He claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss. She spread her hands along his smooth skin and finally gripped his shoulders, hanging on for dear life.

"Elena," he murmured in between kisses. He grasped the oversized hoodie and her nightgown and dragged them up and over her head. He tossed them over his shoulder, leaving her clad in only a plain pair of cotton undies. Whatever embarrassment she might have felt at being so sorely underdressed for the occasion, she quickly lost when she noticed the way he looked at her. That hungry, needy gaze left her trembling inside.

"Look at you." His muscular chest heaved with each breath as he gazed at her nearly naked body. He smiled, his mouth curving slowly as one of his hands reached for her. He traced a line from the dip of her lower neck to the valley between her breasts. His finger travelled to her left nipple, and Elena inhaled a shuddery breath as he circled her flesh, causing it to pucker and throb.

Damon put a knee on the bed and cupped the back of her neck. Holding her at the nape, he titled her head back and skimmed his lips along the curve of her throat. Elena clutched at him, gripping his incredible biceps as he kissed and nibbled his way down her neck to her breasts. When he latched onto her nipple, she experienced a piercing jolt of delight that left her clitoris throbbing almost painfully.

Damon must have known what he was doing to her because his other hand slid down until he gripped the back of her thigh. He forced her thighs apart and pushed his leg between them. The sudden friction of his muscular thigh against the most sensitive part of her was too much. She tried to pull away, but he held her right there, silently daring her to move.

But Elena couldn't. She was too embarrassed to rub against him in the way she wanted most. This was happening so fast, and she was quickly realizing that she was way out of her depth here.

Damon's mouth moved to her other breast. He suckled and grazed his teeth over her while kneading her bottom in his big hands. When Damon pushed her back on the bed, she pressed her knees together to assuage the pulsing ache between her thighs. He grinned knowingly, his sexy smile making her stomach do wild flips.

Crawling towards her, Damon gripped the waistband of her panties and tugged them down her hips. Elena lifted her bottom to help him, and with one good jerk, he swished them down her legs. Completely naked now, she leaned back on her elbows and waited to see what he would do next. He sat back on his heels and idly stroked his shaft. Seeing his hand moving over his cock was a shock to her. He was so comfortable in his skin and seemed wholly unfazed by touching himself like that in front of her.

"Open your legs, Elena."

Elena gulped and did as instructed, slowly widening her thighs so he could see her.

He swore under his breath. "Use your fingers. Show me everything, Elena."

Fingers trembling, Elena reached between her legs and parted the lips of her sex. Slick with arousal, she glistened down there. Her clitoris throbbed, and she couldn't help herself. She circled the aching bud with the tip of her finger, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

Growling, Damon abandoned his cock and moved towards her. Dipping his head, he kissed the top of her left foot before skimming his lips up her calf towards her knee. He repeated the same kissing manoeuvre on her right leg and then peppered light kisses along her thigh up to her hip. His mouth danced across her lower belly, hesitating at her navel where he placed a noisy kiss that made her laugh, and then continued its trek down the curve of her hip and thigh to her left knee.

His mouth shifted course when he reached her knee. He dragged his tongue along her inner thigh. Lightheaded, she inhaled quick, shuddery breaths as his tongue moved closer and closer to that spot where she was throbbing and aching. She gasped when he swiped the length of her slit. He did it twice more before dotting a kiss right on top of her clitoris.

The heady sensation he evoked left Elena clutching at the covers and desperate for air. She wanted him to use his mouth on her even more, but she wasn't brave enough to ask. This was all too new, and she wasn't sure what to do or how to do it.

Damon continued kissing his way up her body, across her stomach and along her ribcage and didn't stop until he reached her neck. She could feel his cock rubbing against her belly. Arching into him, she lifted her hips and rocked into him. Damon groaned and grabbed her wrists in one big hand. He dragged them above her head, pinning them to a pillow, and shoved her legs apart with his knee.

Suddenly his captive, Elena experienced the most delightful thrill. Damon buried his face in her neck and nipped at her sensitive throat. His other hand rode the outline of her body, sliding down her ribcage to her hip before gliding between her thighs. He cupped her pussy and pressed his lips to her ear. "Do you know how long I have wanted to touch you like this?"

She licked her lips and shook her head.

"Do you know many nights I fucked my own hand while thinking about you?" His fingers traced and then parted her labia. Elena whimpered when he found her swollen nub and started to strum it ever so slowly. His hand touching her so intimately felt nothing like her own hand, and she didn't want him to stop.

"Feel how wet you are?" His fingers slid down even lower and dipped into her. There was no resistance as he carefully probed. One finger slid inside her, curling just a little. His thumb rubbed side to side over her clitoris. It felt so good. Her toes curled against the duvet, and she lifted her hips, desperate for more. She was getting close. So close…

"You are ready for my cock, aren't you?"

Overwhelmed by sensation and unable to speak, Elena nodded. Damon grinned that sexy grin of his that made her stomach wobble. Burning up for him, she widened her thighs in a silent plea for him to keep going. She wanted this. She wanted him. Right now. Inside her.

He reached down and wrapped a hand around his shaft. Dragging the fat head of his cock through her folds, he teased her with the promise of what was to come. Pulsing with desire, she moaned and surged against him, wanting to feel his shaft on her clitoris again. "Please! Damon!"

Without a moment's warning, Damon thrust forward, slamming into her and sheathing himself right to the hilt. Hissing, Elena recoiled with the shock of the sharp pain that gripped her.

Too hard.

Too fast.

Too deep.

Too much.

"Elena?" Frozen above her, Damon stared down at her with a panicked expression.

 _No, no, no,_ she thought. _Don't stop now!_

"Please," Elena panted. "Don't." She tried to catch her breath. "Stop."

x x x

The moment he surged forward, Damon had recognized something was different. The unexpected resistance had registered a second too late, but the hiss of pain was impossible to ignore.

A virgin!

A virgin?

Of course.

It all made sense now. The mixed signals? Her shyness? He should have seen it. He should have been paying more attention.

 _Like right now,_ he thought, glancing at her pained expression.

 _I'm hurting her._ The taut muscles in her face and neck told him everything. She was in agony right now. He had been so desperate to finally have her that he had rammed into her without warning.

Feeling like the worst asshole in the world, he replayed her pained words. "Please! Don't! Stop!"

 _I swore I would never hurt her, but I did._

Desperate to make this right, Damon started to withdraw from the unbelievably tight sheath now gripping him, but Elena frowned up at him. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she shook her head. "Please don't stop," she practically begged. "I want this with you."

The tension in his chest eased. He had misunderstood that part at least, but there was no mistaking the signs of pain on her beautiful face. Letting go of her wrists, he caressed her cheek. "I'm hurting you, Elena."

Elena shook her head. "I don't care." She slid her hands along his arms until they rested on his shoulders. "I have wanted this just as long as you have."

He believed her. She spoke with sincerity. There was no denying their mutual attraction or desire, but it shouldn't have happened like this.

Ashamed of how selfish he had been, Damon leaned down and captured her mouth with loving, tender kisses. She deserved better than this, to be rushed and used so roughly. If he had known—if she had told him that she had no experience with men—he would have taken his time with her.

Watching her face, he slid forward only an inch or so and then retreated. She winced, and he froze again. Was this the right thing to do? Should he stop altogether? Should he keep going? He didn't know much about virgins. In fact, he had always gone out of his way to avoid them. There was too much responsibility involved. If he messed this up tonight, Elena would be cheated of a wonderful experience.

 _So don't mess it up. Go easy. Trust her to tell you what she needs,_ Damon reminded himself.

"Should I keep going? Do you want to stop and try again later?"

"It is not that bad." She placed her hand against his cheek in a reassuring gesture. "I promise, Damon. It doesn't hurt. It is just…different." Her eyes closed for a moment and a smile flitted across her face. "A very good different."

Damon skimmed his lips along her jaw. He couldn't get enough of her soft skin. His hand moved along her neck and across her collarbone before slipping down to her breast. He marvelled at her silky skin and the dark puckered flesh of her nipple. Unable to help himself, he suckled her gently. Almost instantly, he felt her pussy clamping down on his cock. His breath escaped his lungs on a rushed exhalation as he revelled in that wild sensation. He did it again, suckling harder this time and even biting down just a bit.

"Damon!" Elena rocked against him. Her pussy fluttered around his dick, and he thought he might die in that moment. Heart racing, mouth dry, he kissed her again, tasting her sweet mouth and wishing they could stay like this forever.

More relaxed, Elena lifted her legs and hooked them at the small of his back, crossing her ankles and anchoring herself to him. The shift in angle felt amazing for him. By the look of wonder reflected in her eyes, it felt pretty damn good for her too. He couldn't believe how wet she was now. He was able to thrust without even the slightest bit of drag.

Shifting his weight to one knee, Damon trailed his fingertips from her hairline to her lips. He outlined her mouth and then pressed his fingers to her pout. "Lick."

Always a good girl, she followed his order and flicked her tongue over his skin. He kissed the tip of her nose and then lowered his now slick fingers to the place where their bodies met. He framed her clit between them and rubbed slowly while thrusting into her. He didn't go very deep or very hard. He took his time, moving with leisurely strokes and kissing her over and over again.

He wasn't sure if she would be able to come like his. He had always heard that it wasn't very good for women the first few times. Not wanting her to associate pain or disappointment with him, Damon was determined to try to help her find pleasure with him.

But, damn, it was hard to hold back. Everything about this coupling was different. He had never been this excited in his life, not even his first time. Beneath him, Elena started to move. Her body was tense now but for a different reason. She gripped his shoulder and hip, her short nails digging into his skin. She was so damn tight and wet and hot and—crap!

Damn.

Damn.

He suddenly realized why this felt better than it ever had. In their rush to bed, he had broken his only sex rule. He never had sex without a condom. Until now. He had always been careful, fearing an unwanted pregnancy or disease.

Pull out. A small and very responsible voice in the back of his head urged caution, but then Elena gripped the back of his neck and dragged him down for a kiss that made his damn toes curl. His self-control imploded in that moment.

Damon felt that familiar buzzing sensation building at the base of his spine. Too fast. Too soon. But he couldn't stop it. Not when ELena started rocking her hips to meet his measured thrusts. Pressing her forehead to his, she whispered his name again and again. "Damon. ."

Hearing her breathing his name like that broke him. Thrusting deep, he came so damn hard his vision started to dim. His entire body trembled with the aftershocks as wave after wave of incredible pleasure gripped him. Elena's thighs tightened around his waist, almost as if she were determined to hold him prisoner. Desperate to eke out the last few moments of incredible sensation, he rolled his hips, thrusting shallow and fast until ever last drop of cum had been milked out of him.

Falling forward, Damon tried to catch his breath as he drowned in a wave of guilt. Silently berating himself for ruining her first experience with a man, he stayed fully sheathed in her slick heat. She combed her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek and jaw. He didn't deserve her sweet gestures, not after failing her in this.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled by her throat. Embarrassment gripped him. For a man renowned for his sexual prowess, he had just made a complete fool of himself by coming so fast. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Elena sounded confused as she stroked his back.

Lifting his head, Damon gazed down into her beautiful face. Didn't she understand that he had just cheated her of something special? "I should have had more control. I hurt you—and then I finished first."

Elena pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss. "You didn't hurt me, and I don't care that you finished first." Smiling tenderly, she brushed her fingertips along his jawline. "We will figure out the timing eventually."

In awe of her, Damon nuzzled into her and noisily kissed his cheek. Very carefully, he withdrew from her body and rolled onto his side. He slipped one arm under her body and embraced her from behind, dragging her back against him. He grasped her knee and pulled her leg up and over his, opening her thighs and giving him the right amount of access. Cupping her hot mound, he nibbled her earlobe and said, "Tell me what feels good."

"Everything you do to me feels good," Elena said breathlessly. "Like that," she whispered when Damon rubbed his finger around her clit in a lazy circle. "Especially that."

Listening to her moans and hitched breaths for guidance, he played with that pink pearl hidden away between her legs until she started to tremble. Holding her like this, he was able to tease her with kisses and fondle her incredible breasts. He focused his attention on her clitoris, rubbing and stroking, but didn't let his fingers drift any lower. After the way he had just battered her poor body, she was probably aching and sore.

She gripped his thigh and pushed back against him. Her perky little ass brushed against his stiffening cock. He had always been quick to recover but even this was fast for him. With his fingers sliding in her wetness, he grew more excited, his blood heating in his veins and coursing through him with renewed vigour. He wanted nothing more than to bury his dick in her again—but it was too soon.

With a shocked groan, Damon surged against Elena when she reached down between her spread legs to stroke his shaft. Her nimble fingers moved over his solid length, gliding down from the tip to the base. She was growing bolder with him and more curious. He loved it.

But when she cupped his balls, Damon's fingers faltered. He nipped at her earlobe. "What are you doing, Elena?"

"Can we try again?" she asked, her voice tinted with excitement and uncertainty.

He gulped. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you again."

"You won't," she assured him. "I know what I want, and I want you. Again."

His dick throbbed, and heat rolled through his belly. "I will be gentle."

Elena looked back at him and smiled. "You always are with me."

The absolute trust reflected in her dark eyes drove him crazy. Someday, Damon wanted to deserve it. He wasn't a good man. He had done some terrible shit in his life, but he had tried to make amends. He had tried to live clean and right. Gazing down at Elena, he wondered if she was his reward for good behaviour.

Instead of pushing her onto her back, he kept her glued to his chest like this. Spooning would keep him from losing control again. Clutching his cock, she guided him into place, and he carefully, slowly, pressed into her. She licked her full lower lip and wiggled her hips until she found just the right angle. "Oh," she breathed out on a long sigh. "Damon."

"Does this feel good?"

"Yes. So good."

Fully sheathed in her wet heat, he didn't move. Instead, he traced a tight circle around her clit with two fingers. She shuddered when his fingertips flicked a certain way so he kept doing that—again and again and again until she panted and squirmed. Their coupling was unhurried and slow. Pushing, thrusting, rocking—he carried her closer and closer to the edge. She squeezed him with rhythmic spasms until finally—finally—she came apart in his arms.

"Damon!" Elena cried out with ecstasy, her entire body undulating with sheer pleasure.

Exquisite. He watched her closely, enjoying the wonder and astonishment brightening her gorgeous face. His own orgasm was close behind, thrumming and building and pulsing with greater intensity. But he clamped down on it, refusing to let go until Elena was satisfied.

She had just come down from her first climax when she shifted away from him and onto her back. Clutching at his arms, she tugged on him in a silent plea for him to climb on top of her again. He wasn't about to deny her anything she desired, especially not tonight.

Sliding into her, Damon was careful not to take her too fast or too hard. He crashed their mouths together while snapping his hips, burying his cock in her. She clawed at his back, leaving burning trails along his skin. Feeling her staccato breaths on his cheek and neck excited him more than anything. He grasped her hand and dragged it down to the place where their bodies were joined.

"Make yourself come again," he all but ordered. Nipping at her bottom lip, he caused her to hiss. "Show me the way you touch yourself when you are alone."

Throwing her head back, Elena cried out as Damon thrust into her with a little more force. She played with her clit, rubbing fast circles around it while rising up to meet his every move. He could tell she was close again by those quick breaths she inhaled and the deep flush racing along her skin. Enthralled by her breasts, he bent his head and latched on to her dark nipple.

She came suddenly, her entire body wracked with the explosion of pure bliss. He didn't stand a chance. He dove off the edge with her and plunged into the same wave of pleasure.

They came down together, kissing, touching, whispering. Elena had the sweetest, softest smile on her beautiful face. She kissed him so tenderly, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she started to giggle. "That was amazing," she murmured against his lips. She embraced him in a hug he never wanted to end. "I'm so glad it was you."

In that moment, he knew everything had changed. All his plans for her? They crumbled in a spectacular crash. She could never be just his mistress. Not after this.

No, she was meant for something far greater.

 _Mine,_ Damon thought and gathered her close. _Always._


	15. Chapter 15

Long after Elena fell asleep in his arms, Damon stroked her bare back and arm. His mind raced in ten different directions. What would happen once the underworld woke to the news that Kai Parker was dead? Would Elena and Bonnie's involvement in his death stay secret? Would the police come sniffing around for answers?

And what was he going to do about Katherine? She was out there somewhere, probably hurt and scared, and would need to be rescued. If she was smart, she would get as far away from Mystic Falls as possible. She would go north to any place not connected to the cartel and start a new life. But was she that smart? The choices she had made so far in life didn't inspire much confidence.

Elena hummed in her sleep and turned on her side. Even before he slid closer, she was snuggling back against him. His mouth lifted in a smile as he pulled her in tight and kissed the side of her neck. His smile faded when he noticed the scars crisscrossing her back. Earlier, he had felt the raised bumps under his fingertips, but he had been so fascinated by her lithe body that he hadn't paid them much attention.

But now? Now Damon couldn't stop looking at them.

He knew what they were.

Someone had struck Elena, repeatedly, with a cord of some kind. The scars curved around her back the way something flexible would when it hit skin. He didn't have to think very hard to find a culprit for the abuse she had suffered. It was either her horrible mother or one of the scumbag assholes she had brought into their home.

Rage burned hot and heavy in his chest as Damon traced the thin scars. They spurred a memory he had long since buried. While his family was still in Italy, he and Stefan had watched another boy, a weaker boy, who had been singled out by three street soldiers. For every little infraction, that poor kid had been hauled away and taken to the secret block where terrible things had been done to him.

Later, the kid had been thrown back onto the street completely unconscious and with his back ragged and torn from a whipping. The next day, Damon had coaxed the truth from the younger boy, learning about the extension cord that had been used on him and the other terrible things that had been done. The kid had done nothing wrong but because his parents had owed one of the mafia bosses heaps of money. Hurting the kid was a warning for the parents.

Staring at his hands, Damon could almost feel the hot blood spilling onto them. He had done terrible things when he was still living in Italy. He had hurt many people. Disgust soured his stomach. The things he had done to survive in the underworld…

Damon lifted his hand from Elena's back and held it away from her as if he feared infecting her with the darkness and shame still clinging to him. She was the most pure and good thing he had ever had in his life. If she ever found out about the horrible things he had done?

 _She will leave me. She will despise me._

Panic overwhelmed him. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her. He would do anything to keep her. Anything.

Thinking of the unseemly way Damon had brought her into his life left his stomach in knots. He had been so stupid to ever think that asking her to be his mistress would work. What had she been thinking when he had said that last night? Had she been afraid of what would happen when he discovered she didn't have the skills a mistress usually possessed? Had she felt pressured to let him have her tonight?

No. Damon didn't believe that last one. Elena had been the one who came onto him tonight. She had been the one to urge him to continue every time he had hesitated. She had made the decision to enjoy this with him. He only hoped that she was happy with that decision.

 _I will never be good enough for her. I'm a terrible person._

It was a troubling thought, and one that threatened to turn him inside out. Damon wasn't sure how to navigate these uncharted relationship waters. He couldn't just give her pretty, expensive things and expect her to be happy. Elena would need him to be open and honest with her, to talk about his feelings and to share his thoughts with her. He had never done that with a woman before and didn't have the first notion of how to make it work.

 _But I have to try._

Elena had given him a precious gift tonight. She had trusted him with something she could give no other man. Forever and always, this experience was theirs and theirs alone. As he drifted off with Elena in his arms, he vowed then and there to never give her a reason to doubt that decision.

Sometime later, Damon bolted awake to the sensation of movement. Confused, he lifted his head from his pillow and saw Elena sliding out of bed. He touched her hip, stopping her. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing." Elena glanced back at him and smiled sleepily. "I'm fine." Leaning back toward him, she kissed his cheek. "Go back to sleep."

When she got out of bed, she turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the bedroom into darkness before he could fully appreciate every sexy inch of her body. The bathroom door clicked when it closed and a faint sliver of light illuminated the strip of space beneath it. On the verge of dozing off again, he heard the shower start. She wasn't in there very long, maybe two or three minutes, before it switched off.

A short time later, Elena left the bathroom and climbed back into bed with him. Damon reached for her in the darkness, and she cuddled into him. He smoothed his hand down the long strands of her hair. The ends were wet so he swept her hair away from her back and onto the pillow behind her. He had his suspicions about her shower, but he didn't want to pry or make her uncomfortable. Still—he worried she might be in pain after the way he had taken her not once but twice in such a short time.

"Elena?"

"Yes?"

"Is everything all right?"

Elena didn't answer immediately. "I woke up, and I was all sticky."

There was no mistaking the embarrassment in her voice. "Oh." Smiling, he kissed her temple and gave her bottom a little pat. "Sorry."

She drew shapes on his shoulder. "It is all right. I will…I will be better prepared next time."

Next time? Damn, he started to get hard just thinking about having sex with her again. No, it was not sex, he silently admonished. It wasn't sex. Not with Elena. It was something more. Something better.

Feeling her shiver from the chill in the room, Damon reached down and grabbed the covers. She burrowed into him when he dragged the sheet and duvet over their naked bodies. Almost shyly, Elena tucked her leg over his in a search for the most comfortable position. He placed his hand on her thigh in a reassuring gesture, wordlessly letting her know that this was all right.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep again. Like Elena, he was exhausted from the last two nights. Unfortunately, Damon was programmed to wake early. He lingered in bed with Elena for half an hour before carefully extricating himself. Wanting her to get some much-needed rest, he tucked the covers around her and gently kissed her cheek before backing away from the bed.

Damon took a shower in the guest bathroom and changed into the clean set of workout clothes in his gym bag. While he waited for his coffee to brew, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something important. Halfway through his first cup, it suddenly hit him.

No condom.

Twice.

What were the odds that a woman who wasn't sexually active would be on birth control? Not very high. Thinking about everything he had packed for Elena, he didn't remember seeing any pills in her bathroom or bedroom. She didn't have any in her purse either.

It would figure that innocent, virginal Elena would conceive a child on her first night of lovemaking. That was the way these things usually worked. Worried that she would wake up and regret what they had done, Damon decided he would do the one thing he could to make this right. He found his phone and texted Enzo who answered back mere seconds later that he was already in the parking garage downstairs.

A few minutes later, Enzo was at the front door, a fast food bag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He headed straight for the kitchen, dropped his bag on the counter and retrieved Elena's phone from his pocket. "I was up early so I went by the friend's house to get Elena's phone. There weren't any missed calls."

"Did you hear anything last night?" Damon finished his coffee and put the cup in the sink. He pocketed Elena's phone for now.

Enzo shook his head. "I went straight home."

"And this morning?"

Enzo shrugged out of his jacket. "People have noticed Kai is missing. I have heard a few different theories. Some people think Katherine and Mason killed him and ran. Others think Kai killed Katherine and Mason, and is laying low. The one that I heard more than the others is that Hector Salas came to town to clean up Kai's mess and whacked Kai, Katherine and Mason. Everyone knew that Kai was skating on thin ice with Hector. After that bust for the dog fighting? The books were opened on how long Kai would last."

"And Elena? Her friend? The motel?"

"Elena and Bonnie were never there. You were never there. I was never there. Logan and his crew weren't either. Last night didn't happen."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Damon grumbled. "I'm going out for a little while. I won't be long."

"We will be fine." Enzo dumped the contents of the bag onto the counter, sending Egg McMuffins and hash browns rolling across the granite.

"Don't let her eat any of that horrible, greasy shit if she wakes up before I'm back," Damon warned. "I will make her a proper breakfast."

"Whatever." Enzo stuffed a greasy hash brown in his mouth.

Annoyed by the sound of the guard's chewing, he pointed towards the closed bedroom door. "Don't bother her. She needs to get some rest. The last few days have been difficult for her."

Enzo swallowed his mouthful of food and reached for his coffee. After a quick sip, he said, "I will be quiet."

"See that you are," Damon replied, his mouth settling into a frustrated line. "And no more of your bullshit, Enzo. I don't know what you said to her yesterday—and I don't want to know—but if I come home again and you have upset her, I'm bouncing you back to my father."

Enzo wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and balled it up in his big fist. "I didn't say anything to hurt her purposely. I just—I wanted her to understand what she had done."

"That is not your job. She is mine. If she needs a lesson in the way the world works, I will be the one who gives it to her. You keep your mouth shut and stop filling her head with stories that scare her. Elena and I? We have our own way of doing things."

Enzo eventually nodded. "You are the boss."

 _You are right, I am,_ Damon thought crossly. "Don't let anyone inside the penthouse while I'm gone."

"I will keep her locked up tight for you."

Damon shot Enzo a warning glance before gathering up his phone, wallet and keys and leaving the apartment. He waited in the hallway until he heard the deadbolt engage. On his way out of the building, he questioned whether Enzo was the right fit long-term. He seemed to be a man who was used to getting his hands dirty, not following a nice woman around town and keeping her safe.

Maybe it was time to look for a permanent solution to the issue of Elena's security. This thing with Kai and Katherine would blow over soon enough. Of that, he was sure. Giuseppe and the other bosses wanted last night's secret to stay buried. Only a complete idiot with a death wish would say anything. He just had to get Elena through the tension of the next week, and everything would be all right.

But Damon did have enemies. He would never fully escape the underworld or the awful things he had done in that past life. Some grudges never faded. Now that he finally had someone that he loved in his life, she would be a target. He needed to know that Elena was safe.

As he drove home, he considered about hiring a team to protect Elena. But he could just imagine the look on Elena's face if there were two men following her everywhere.

Elena seemed willing to let him coddle her to an extent, but he had no doubt she would push back if he tried to attach a special team to her. She didn't need hardcore security guards with special ops backgrounds. She needed one or two men he trusted to keep her safe, to drive and escort her around town.

Alone in his house, Damon changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt and slipped into a comfortable pair of boots. Standing in his master bathroom, he eyed the empty second closet that was part of the suite. He walked over to it and opened the door. It had been designed for a woman with plenty of rack space, built-in shelving for shoes and even a marble topped island for storing lingerie.

He had no trouble imaging Elena in here every morning, picking through her clothing and slipping into all the sexy, tiny, lacy things he intended to buy her. She would need more handbag space though. That was one habit he would support without complaint.

Feeling strangely excited by the prospect of Elena moving into his home, Damon backed out of the bathroom. He cast a glance at his bed and decided that he would have her in it tonight. This business with keeping her in the penthouse was done. His father was right. She didn't belong there. It was seedy and beneath her. She belonged here. In his home. Sharing his life.

After locking up, he left the house and drove to the nearest twenty-four hour drug store. He headed straight inside and right to the contraceptives aisle. He wasn't quite sure how these morning-after-pills worked. He had never needed them until now. He studied the options on the rack and finally chose the one that seemed easiest for her to take. He also grabbed the biggest box of condoms he could find.

At the pharmacy counter, he stared right back at the pharmacist who levelled a judgmental look his way. It wasn't that old prick's business why he needed the medication. Seeing the pharmacist's reaction convinced him that coming here was the right thing to do. The last thing Elena needed was someone treating her like a whore after their night together.

Bag in hand, Damon left the drug store and stopped at the closest bakery. He had been planning to buy some nice pastries or muffins until he saw the stack of freshly made challah. The accompanying recipe cards for French toast seemed simple enough to handle. He chose a bottle of organic maple syrup from the nearby display before heading to the cashier.

Breakfast and medication purchased, Damon returned to the penthouse. He sat in his SUV for a few minutes after parking and held the plastic bag and the pill it contained. His desire to protect Elena from the unintended consequence of their night together was strong, but he would be a liar if he said that he was happy about buying this for her.

Some primal instinct within him decried the idea of Elena taking this and preventing a pregnancy that might be hours away from taking hold. Knowing he was the only man she had ever been with was powerful stuff. He didn't like admitting that. He had always been a man who didn't care about those kinds of things. The number of notches on a woman's bedpost meant nothing to him.

But he couldn't stomach the thought of another man knowing the sounds Elena made when she climaxed or the feel of her naked body rocking against his. He wasn't proud of that. He wasn't proud of these unexpected and very old school feelings creeping over him.

It was because she was the first woman who had ever been only his.

It was because she trusted him.

It was because she had chosen him.

Damon exhaled roughly. He wouldn't break her trust by putting her in a situation she wasn't ready for or wanted. Elena was just getting started in life. She was on the cusp of success in her career, and she was also facing the very real prospect she might never see her sister again. The last thing he needed was an unexpected pregnancy complicating her life.

Even so, he couldn't shake the image of Elena holding a baby and smiling at him. It was a powerful image, one that made his chest ache with desire and need. Someday, he promised himself as he stepped into the elevator. Someday, when she was ready…

x x x

Waking up alone was a jarring sensation, especially after being wrapped up in Damon's arms all night. Elena sat up slowly and glanced around the bedroom. It was late, probably nine or ten in the morning. She ran her hand over the spot where Damon had slept, but the sheets were cool to the touch. He had been awake awhile.

A sadness Elena didn't understand engulfed her. It was silly to feel so slighted about something like this, but she had envisioned something different. She had expected to wake up curled next to him, breathing in his scent, feeling his heat, maybe even sneaking a kiss or two.

 _Stop being ridiculous. You are a grown ass woman, and it was just sex,_ Elena reminded herself.

Except it wasn't just sex. As she showered and pulled on some leggings and an oversized sweater, she tried to sort out her jumbled feelings. Not much about her first time had gone as she had envisioned. No mood lighting. No wine. No music. Last night hadn't gone according to any plan. It had just…happened.

But Elena was glad it had happened. She had loved every moment of making love to Damon, even the sort of painful parts. Maybe the first time hadn't been romance novel worthy, but the second time had been amazing. Frankly, she couldn't wait to try it again.

While she blasted her hair with a blow dryer, she debated how much to tell Bonnie. Bonnie had always been incredibly open with her about her experiences. It was only fair that she shared her news and all the juicy details with her friend. She could just imagine the smug look on Bonnie's face when Bonnie heard the story she had to tell. Her friend had called this months ago and was going to make sure she remembered it.

Winding up the cord on the blow dryer, Elena stopped suddenly. Thinking of all the details she would share with her friend, she remembered one very important thing.

Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

They hadn't used protection. At all. Either time.

Bonnie was going to flip when she told her that detail. They had always promised each other that they would be safe. Elena had gotten so wrapped up in the lust and excitement that she hadn't even stopped to think about the risks.

 _Calm down._

 _Think._

 _Count._

For once in her life, Elena rejoiced at her clockwork period. For years now, she had run on a perfect schedule of thirty-three days. She quickly did the math and breathed a sigh of relief. Her period was due in less than a week. Unless her body was up to some seriously weird things, she had already ovulated and was in the clear.

Combing her fingers through her hair, Elena stared at her reflection and shook her head. _What were you thinking? You need to slow down and act responsibly. You are not ready to be a mother!_

Her fingers drifted over the bruises on her throat and cheek. They were starting to turn a deep shade of plum. It would be another week or two before they faded completely. She rarely wore more than a little BB cream, but she would definitely have to find a way to work some concealer into her usual routine until they were gone.

Today, though, Elena didn't see the need to spackle on the heavy duty stuff. She dabbed on some lip balm before leaving the safety of the bedroom. The scent of vanilla wafted through the penthouse, and she discovered Damon making French toast for her. In all the time Elena had known him, this was the first time she had ever seen him in jeans. He looked so sexy in them.

Sensing her presence, Damon turned towards her and grinned. He turned back to the range just long enough to switch off the gas. With powerful, confident strides, he closed the distance between them and slid an arm around her waist. Cupping her face, he tipped back her head and teased his mouth across hers. It was a tender, seeking kiss that stoked the lingering flames from last night.

When Damon pulled back, he brushed his knuckles along her cheek. "Good morning."

Elena smiled shyly up at him. "Hi."

He pressed his lips to her forehead and then dotted kisses along her temple and right up to the crown of her head. He inhaled deeply. "You always smell so good."

Elena rubbed her hand over his chest. "You were up early."

"Old habits." He brushed his fingers through her hair. "I hope you are hungry. I managed to time breakfast just right."

"Oh?"

"I heard the shower and started following the recipe." He gestured to a recipe card propped up against the backsplash. "I hope you like French toast."

"I love it."

"Come eat while it is still hot." Damon guided her to the nearest barstool and helped her settle onto it. Elena sipped the orange juice he had already placed at her spot while he dished up their breakfast. She liked watching him at these domestic chores. Even with something as simple as French toast, he was so careful in plating the dish. He added blueberries and strawberries to each serving along with a healthy dollop of butter and swirl of expensive maple syrup.

"Thank you." Elena smiled at him when he slid her plate in front of her.

"You are welcome." Damon leaned down and kissed me. His newfound ease of displaying affection seemed so natural this morning.

Glancing back toward the living room, she asked, "What about Enzo?"

"I sent him on some errands. He will meet up with us later." He gestured with his fork towards her plate. "Eat."

Side by side, they devoured their fluffy stacks of French toast and berries. They talked quietly, mostly about the best breakfasts they had ever eaten. Elena noticed the way he seemed to be going out of his way not to mention the motel or Kai or Katherine. Eventually, they would have to talk about it, but it was such a lovely Sunday morning. She didn't want to spoil it with something so ugly either.

When they had finished eating, Damon pushed her plate out of the way and leaned closer. He brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear and traced the shell of it with his fingertip. "We need to talk about last night."

Something in Elena's chest clenched painfully. Was this it? Was he going to tell her it was a mistake? That she was a nice girl but she wasn't exactly mistress material? Or that he had finally decided that all her baggage was too much to handle? Stomach churning, she said softly, "Okay…?"

As if reading her mind, Damon shook his head and ran his thumb along her lower lip. "That is not what I meant, Elena." He claimed her mouth in a lingering, lovingly sweet kiss. "I have no regrets about last night." He kissed her again. "None." And again. "Not one." Leaning back, he searched her eyes for something. "Do you?"

"No." Elena's answer was swift and sure.

He tilted his head. "Not even the way I was too rough with you the first time?"

Elena sensed his guilt and hated that he felt as if he had hurt her or done something wrong. Touching his cheek, she said, "Damon, I should have told you that I hadn't ever gone that far. You shouldn't feel guilty about anything that happened last night."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She glanced down, suddenly embarrassed. "I guess…maybe…I was worried you wouldn't want me."

"What?" he asked, seemingly incredulous at the very thought. Tilting her head up with fingers beneath her chin, he stared at her in utter confusion. "How could you ever think that I wouldn't want you?"

 _Didn't he understand? Didn't he realize how high his dating stock was compared to mine?_

"Damon, you are this ridiculously hot guy with a long history of lovers and mistresses who have rocked your freaking world. I can't compare with that. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just…stumbling along behind you, trying to catch up."

"If you feel like you are stumbling behind, say something, Elena. I want you to walk beside me. Don't ever let me pressure you into doing something you don't like just because it is something I enjoy."

"But how will I know if I enjoy it if I don't try it with you?"

Damon didn't have a quick answer for that. "We will have to take it slow. You have to promise me that you will always tell me to stop if you don't like something we try. I can't stand the thought of hurting you, Elena." He touched his forehead to hers. "It would destroy me if I found out you felt used or abused or forced into something."

"You would never let it get that far."

"I would like to think I wouldn't, but I can't read your mind. You have to speak up, Elena."

"I will."

"Promise me, Elena."

"I promise, Damon."

As if remembering the other thing she had said, he added, "And you don't ever have to compare yourself to the other women in my past." His gaze bore into hers. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"All I want is you, Elena. Just you. Exactly as you are."

"That is a good thing." Elena slid her hand down to the side of his neck and ran her thumb back and forth along the underside of his jaw. "That's all I can offer."

"It is more than enough, Elena." Turning his head, Damon kissed her palm before turning his worried gaze to her. "But," he said with a sigh, "we made two mistakes last night."

Instantly, Elena knew what he meant. "I'm so sorry, Damon. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I have never been so irresponsible. I never thought—"

"Hush." He pressed his lips to hers, silencing her rambling. "There is more than enough blame to share. The bulk of the blame is on me, Elena. I'm older than you. I'm more experienced. I seduced you, and I should have been prepared."

"It is my body. I should have been more careful with it."

"I would never put you at risk of any sort of disease, Elena." He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away briefly. He seemed reluctant as he said, "When I used to fight underground, there was a lot of blood." He cringed as if remembering the mess in those cages at the end of fight night. "A lot of blood," he repeated. "Back then, they didn't test anyone. They just threw us in the ring and had us beat the shit out of each other until one man was left standing. Now? Now the mafia family make sure everyone has papers proving they are clean."

Damon cupped the back of her neck and stared into her eyes. He was being totally open with her and seemed to be trying to reassure her that he was telling the truth. "I have been tested for all the horrible blood borne diseases. I have also been tested for everything to do with sex. The tests are always negative. It has been years since I fought in a cage, and I have always been careful when I fool around so I i's definitely overkill to be tested so much. I know it is. But I would hate myself if I hurt a woman who shared my bed."

Seeing this side of Damon surprised Elena. He was letting her see the real him beneath that ultra-confident shell. Deep down, he was vulnerable and unsure. At the purest part of him, he wanted to be a good man, to care and provide and protect the woman in his life. It was an old-school sentiment—and one she was starting to find intensely attractive.

Not wanting him to beat himself up over our mistake, Elena said, "Damon, I'm sure we are fine. You obviously monitor your health closely. I will have my doctor run some tests the next time I see her if that will put your mind at ease."

"I can show you my latest results, if you would like. I have them in my electronic medical chart that the hospital uses."

"That's fine." They had flirted with danger last night, and they couldn't do it again. But she wasn't going to berate him when it was clear he had been diligent about protecting himself.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Last night was the first time I have forgotten a condom. I'm not sure if you're taking something…?"

Elena shook her head. "I'm not."

"Well, we will have to do something about that," he said. "Until then, I will wear a condom. If you want to keep having sex with me," he added.

"Of course, I want to keep having sex with you!" Elena couldn't even believe he would ask something that crazy.

Damon laughed. "Good. Because I want to keep having sex with you." He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and shifted on his seat. "About last night? Just in case, I got this for you when I went out this morning."

Elena didn't know what to say when Damon placed the familiar box in front of her. She had seen the morning after pill in a few stores and had even bought it for Katherine once when she was too embarrassed to go in and buy it herself. Uncertain about how to take it or whether she even wanted to take it, she picked it up and turned the box over to read the back.

Damon gently grasped her wrist and lowered her hand holding the box so he could meet her gaze. "If you want to take it—"

"If?" Elena seized on that surprising start to his sentence.

"I won't force you take it. I won't even ask you to take it. This is your decision, and I will support whatever choice you make."

For a man so inclined toward rather alpha, dominant behaviour, Elena was pleasantly surprised by his stance on this issue. Her heart beat a little faster when she considered the possibilities of what could happen if her dates were wrong. She hadn't ever given much thought to babies or motherhood, but it suddenly seemed like an interesting idea and one she very much wanted to pursue.

With Damon.

But just not right now.

"I'm sure I have already ovulated. I, um, I have a cycle that runs like a clock." Struck by the awkwardness of discussing her cycle with Damon, Elena ducked her head. "But, um, I can take this anyway. If you want me to, I mean." She glanced at the box again. "It is not foolproof. If I have already ovulated—and I'm sure I did—then this pill won't do anything because there is no egg to delay. If I ovulated yesterday, biology is going to win because this pill won't work. There is still a risk that we might be shopping for diapers in nine months."

Elena started to open the box but Damon snatched it out of her hand. He seemed as shocked by his action as she was. Very slowly, he placed it on the counter and pushed it back towards her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"Damon." She pinned him in place with an imploring gaze. "Tell me what you want me to do."

Damon raked his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't have any right to ask you to not take it but I don't want you to feel pressured to do something just because I want it."

"Is that what you want?" Elena searched his handsome face for the answer. His expression was one she couldn't quite place. Was it yearning? Did he want a family? With her?

Gently covering his hand with hers, Elena said, "Damon, I know my body, and I doubt we even need to be having this discussion. I don't want you to get your hopes up about the tiniest, slimmest of possibilities." Interlacing their fingers, she gave his hand a squeeze. "But if I was at a place in my life where starting a family seemed like a good idea, you would be at the top of my list for a partner in that adventure."

His surprised gaze shifted to meet hers. "Why?"

Bemused by his confusion, Elena touched his face with my other hand. "Damon, look at what you have done for me in the last two days! You protected me. You defended me. You took care of me." She leaned in and kissed him tenderly. "Someday, you are going to be a very good father."

His hand tightened around hers. "I would take care of you, Elena."

"You already do."

Damon trailed his fingers down her arm until they rested on her hand. "I want you to pack your things. You are leaving this penthouse today."

Taken aback, Elena asked, "Are you throwing me out?"

"No!" Damon hurriedly stood and gathered her close to his chest. Crushed in his arms, she relaxed. "I'm not throwing you out, Elena. I'm taking you home with me."

Pushing back on his chest, she gazed questioningly up at him. "But I thought—"

He touched her lips, gently interrupting her. "You don't belong in this place." He glanced around the luxury penthouse he had used as his private playground for many years. "Maybe I don't belong here anymore either." His gaze returned to her. "Maybe you have changed me."

"Is that a good thing?" Considering all the trouble she had caused him, Elena wasn't so sure.

"The very best thing." He brushed his thumb along her jaw. "After we get you settled in at the house, I'm going to the gym. It is my normal Sunday afternoon routine. We need to try to behave as normally as possible this week, just in case the police come sniffing around about your sister or Kai. What do you typically do on a weekend?"

"Work."

Damon exhaled a rough burst of laughter. "Why am I not surprised?"

Feeling a bit defensive, Elena thumped his arm. "Some of us have bills to pay and wayward older sisters to support."

"Not anymore," he said, capturing her hand and bringing it close for a kiss. "From now on, you work on your handbags and that is it. I will handle the rest."

Elena didn't want to argue with him so she decided to let it go for now. Later, they would have to sit down and have a realistic discussion about her finances and his expectations in a relationship.

Damon let go of her hand and retrieved his buzzing cell phone. After answering a text, he set it aside. "Enzo is going to meet us at my house."

"So, I have to keep the bodyguard even if I'm living with you?"

"Bodyguards are non-negotiable from this day forward."

"Even after we fix this mess with Katherine?"

Damon nodded. "You know my history, Elena. I have enemies—and now I have a weakness."

Elena cocked her head to the side. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I have never worried about anyone coming after a woman of mine until you. Take that as you will." His thumb glided along the outline of her mouth before sliding toward the bruise darkening her cheek. "I can't let this happen to you again."

Elena nuzzled into his strong hand. "This wasn't your fault."

"Maybe not, but it is a reminder of how close I came to losing you." He softly kissed the bruise. "Twice."

"I nearly lost you when Kai turned his gun on you," she murmured, thinking of how horribly it all could have gone wrong. "I nearly lost my best friend, too."

"Elena, you have to promise me you will never again jump in front of a gun like that," Damon ordered. There was a panicked look on his face that she never wanted to see again. He seemed haunted by the memory of last night.

"I won't." She placed her hands on either side of his neck and leaned in to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss, the kind that sealed a vow. Ending it, she leaned back just enough to look into his eyes. "I won't ever do anything that puts us in danger again."

Damon's worried expression faded. A slow smile spread across his handsome face. "Us?" He wound a tendril of her hair around his finger. "I like the sound of that."

"So do I," Elena whispered, her heart racing and her stomach fluttering excitedly.

He playfully tugged her hair. "Get packed. I will clean the kitchen and then we will leave."

"It won't take me long to pack. I only have a few things here." Elena stood and started to back away from him but stopped. A nagging question wouldn't leave her. If she was moving in with Damon, what did _us_ mean?

"What is it?" He read her so easily.

"What about our arrangement? What about your rules?"

"You blew that arrangement straight to hell last night." Damon walked towards her and cupped her face. "We are playing by new rules today."

Elena had a sneaking suspicion she was really going to like this new game. Walking her fingers up his chest, she rose on tiptoes and brushed her lips to his. "I can't wait to play."


	16. Chapter 16

Dripping with sweat and breathing hard, Damon continued pushing through the burn of another set of bench dips. He eyed the whiteboard mounted on the closest wall where Stefan had scrawled the workout plan for today in that terrible handwriting of his.

One-Arm Kettlebell Push Press

Dumbbell Bench Press

Side Lateral Raise

Push-Ups

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Bench Dips

Chest Dips

Handstand Push-Ups

Push-Ups

Bench Dips

Chest Dips.

Stefan seemed intent on exercising him to death today. If he didn't know any better, Damon might think his brother was pissed off at him, but this was pure Stefan. He ran his gym with an iron fist and demanded the members meet the workout goals.

"Watch your form," Stefan barked as he left another workout station and strode closer. He spun a towel like a windmill as he drew near. "Your arms are fatigued." As if to prove his point, Stefan kicked him right in the ass as he dipped down too low. It wasn't a hard blow, barely more than a tap, but it drove home the point. "You have gone beyond set failure. Stop. Recover."

The burn in Damon's arms had spread to his chest by now. Knowing Stefan was right, he eased off the bench and into a standing position. Shaking out his hands, he walked to the whiteboard and slashed his finger through the set he had just finished, smearing the dry erase marker. Only one set of exercises remained to be completed but he needed more time to recover.

Hotter than hell, Damon ripped off his t-shirt and wiped his sweaty face and neck with it. He caught the water bottle Stefan tossed at him and took a long drink.

"I see the rumours are true."

"Huh?" When Stefan gestured to the mirror, Damon contorted his upper body to get a better look. The angry red scratches on his shoulders and lower back were impossible to ignore. A quicksilver flash of something dark and possessive ignited within him as he remembered Elena grasping and scratching at him while he thrust into her.

Without warning, Stefan popped him across the back with the towel he had been carrying. "Don't start bragging. I will make you cover up, brother."

Hissing with the sharp bite of pain, Damon jerked the towel away from Stefan and whacked him right back with it. "Like you haven't walked around here with love bites from Lexi all over your neck?"

Stefan yanked the towel back and landed a vicious snap right across Damon's ass. "That is my wife you are talking about."

He grinned at Stefan's reaction. "I didn't see Lexi today."

Stefan smiled. "She is visiting her friend."

"Bree? Is she back in Mystic Falls?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes, she got back two weeks ago."

"Where is Bree staying? Her old place?"

"No, she rented a new place."

Damon knew enough about what had happened to Bree a few years back. "You don't sound happy about that."

"I'm not." Stefan pointed to the parallel bars, silently ordering him to finish the final exercise on the list. "Neither is Lexi. But Bree insists to live by herself."

Damon agreed with a grunt as he raised and lowered his body using only his arms. Up. Down. Up. Down. He focused on the wall, keeping his rhythm steady and his pace measured. Keeping his voice low, he asked, "How is Bree doing after…?"

Stefan didn't need him to finish that sentence. He had been away in Vegas with Giuseppe when both Bree and Lexi had been attacked by cartel henchmen hell bent on avenging their overthrown boss. One of the bodyguards had taken a nasty gut shot and two to the shoulder to protect the two women. Other street soldiers had taken beatings and worse, especially the younger ones who hadn't ever been in a street war.

"She is fine." Stefan's clipped answer spoke volumes to Damon. It was a response that told him to drop the issue. Arms crossed, Stefan watched him carefully, his keen eyes taking in Damon's form. "Looks good. Keep going."

When he neared the point of failure, Damon pushed through for two more dips before carefully lowering his feet and stretching out his arms.

"That was good." Stefan tossed him the towel and his water bottle. "Walk with me."

Damon mopped at his face and rehydrated while they walked the length of the warehouse toward the sparring cages. Stefan's fighters were all working toward upcoming matches so the gym was a busy place even on a Sunday afternoon. Sergei and Kir, both matched in size and strength, sparred lightly in one cage. They lingered there for a few minutes before moving to the next cage where Zel, a Croatian fighter who had been the first to join Stefan's professional stable, sparred with a fighter Damon didn't recognize.

Closer to Damon's age than Sergei's, Zel was nearing that point in his life where it was time to hang up the gloves. Damon sipped his water and relaxed his stance while watched Zel fight. "I thought he was done."

Stefan held up a single finger as if to say he had one match left in him. "This next tournament is his last."

"Vegas?" Damon had been planning to fly out for the fights at the Mandalay Bay, but he hadn't realized Zel was fighting. "I didn't realize he was on the card."

"He wasn't, but there was an opening and the promoter and the league wanted him in that slot." Stefan ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. "I shouldn't have let him take this one, but the money was too good for him to pass up."

Damon cast a worried glance at his brother. "Is Zel in trouble?"

"He still owes money on his debt to Logan Fell."

"What? After seven years? Eight years?" Stunned, Damon did the math. "He is still paying on that shit?"

"Interest and penalties," Stefan replied. "You know what those loan sharks are like."

Damon turned his attention to Zel and watched him work his floor games. Zel had one hell of a stand-up game, but he had always been weak on the floor. Even now, he was struggling to break free from a hold.

Growling with frustration, Stefan moved closer to the cage and gripped onto the chain link. Snarling, he barked orders at Zel. "Watch that elbow! When it hits the ground, push up into him and throw him off! Use your hips! Come on!" Stefan banged his hand against the cage. "Buck! Harder!"

Damon watched as Zel finally got a good grip on his opponents' sweat-slicked arm and did exactly as Stefan instructed. He arched off the mat and used the momentum of his move to push the other fighter up and off of him. It was a swift manoeuvre that sent his partner rolling onto his back. Zel quickly pinned the other man to the mat and moved into a dominant position, earning Stefan's clap of approval.

After a few more pointers and discussing Zel's grappling game with a trainer, Stefan returned to Damon's side. He seemed troubled as he watched his fighter continue his Sunday session. "He is losing his fire."

The words were spoken softly, but Damon heard them clearly. Watching Zel, he acknowledged that the Croatian seemed to have lost his passion for fighting. Of course, after the hellish year he had survived, it was no wonder. "He has had a rough year."

"Losing his boy broke him. That kid was the reason he fought. Now?" Stefan's lips sank into a flattened line. "Now he just fights to clear his debt to Logan and move on with his life."

"Fighting for money is dangerous. That is how men get hurt." He cast a look Stefan's way that communicated exactly what he was thinking. _That is how we got hurt._

"Yes, it is." Stefan crossed his arms again. "I offered him the money. I even offered to speak to Logan directly to see if they would write off the balance. The boy is dead now. All that money Zel spent getting them here and then paying for his son's medical bills was wasted. Making him pay it all off now is rubbing salt in a fresh, deep wound."

"He is a proud man." Damon stated the obvious. "Would you take the money if you owed the debt?"

Stefan didn't answer immediately. After a while, he shook his head. "No."

"We will have to help him," Damon decided. "I will talk to Logan. I will find out the balance and then place some strategic bets when I get to Vegas. Maybe we can make Zel enough money to clear his debts and a little bit to start over."

"Be careful with that," Stefan warned. "The last thing you need is to get caught up in some underground gambling, brother."

Damon grunted in agreement.

"Are you bringing her?"

"Elena? To Vegas?" Damon shook his head. "No."

Stefan gawked at him. "You are going to Vegas without your new girl?"

"Our Vegas trips are always men only."

"Not anymore," Stefan shot back. "I'm taking Lexi with me."

Damon wasn't surprised, not after what happened the last time Stefan went to Vegas. "She is your wife. It is different."

Stefan made a grumbling noise. "You better be careful saying things like that around Elena."

Damon shifted uncomfortably under his brother's stare. "I don't think Elena would enjoy the Vegas scene."

"Have you asked her?"

"It hasn't come up yet."

"It better come up before you step on that plane and leave her here in Mystic Falls," Stefan warned. "You might come back to an empty penthouse."

"It is already empty. She moved into my house this morning."

Stefan seemed taken aback. "You are really moving fast with her."

 _You have no idea._ Damon wondered just how much Stefan knew about Elena and what was going on with her sister. Even though his brother was out of the life, he lived right on the edge and always had his ear to the ground. There weren't many dirty deeds he didn't hear about eventually.

As if reading his mind, Stefan said, "You should be careful with your cleaning lady." He held up a hand to halt Damon's retort. "Listen to me, okay?"

Damon relented unhappily and nodded stiffly.

"Sisters are trouble." Stefan grasped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "They come as a package deal," he warned. "Her sister will become your sister. Because you will do anything—even if it means paying for protection for her sister. It is never-ending, brother."

"I get it," Damon assured him. "Elena's sister is—"

"A fuck up?" Stefan supplied.

"Difficult," Damon replied. "She is difficult, but the girls had a hard life." He had been thinking about Katherine and Elena during his workout. "I think Katherine did the best she could. Sometimes it wasn't enough, but she tried. Elena loves her for that. She respects her big sister for sticking around and trying."

Stefan shook his head. "You better be careful thinking like that. You need to snip those strings." He made a scissoring gesture with his thick fingers. "If what I have heard is true, Katherine nearly got her sister killed twice. Don't let her have a third chance, brother. She might finally succeed."

The chilling thought wouldn't leave Damon as he gathered up his gym bag and left the warehouse. Driving across town, he couldn't stop thinking about Stefan's warning. He didn't want to push Elena to cut her sister out of her life, but what other choice did he have?

When he arrived at the house, he slipped his SUV into its slot in his five-car garage and dropped his gym bag on the built-in bench in the mudroom. He found Enzo eating an apple in the kitchen. "Do you ever stop eating?" he asked the enforcer-turned-bodyguard.

"No." Enzo crunched a huge bite of apple between his teeth. He gestured toward the ceiling with the fruit clamped in his hand. "She is upstairs."

"You can head out," Damon said. "We will be fine for the rest of the day."

"Same time tomorrow?"

Damon nodded. "You can work for me until you find a different position or my father decided he needs you somewhere else. I know this isn't how a man with your skillset wants to spend his days."

"It is the best job I have had since I joined the family. Even with all the shit that went down last night," he added.

"If you hear anything about Elena tonight—"

"I will make sure you know," Enzo interjected. "But I wouldn't worry about it. Those secrets died with Kai."

"Let's hope they stay buried," Damon muttered.

After walking Enzo out and locking the door behind him, Damon went upstairs in search of Elena. He found her curled up on an armless upholstered chair in the master bedroom texting with someone. He didn't want to accuse her of talking to her sister so he held his tongue and waited for her to say something.

"It is Bonnie," she explained and flashed him her phone as if to prove it. "We haven't said anything about last night. We are just talking about normal things. I wouldn't say anything that might get us all in trouble."

"I trust you to be safe." He spotted her suitcase still sitting where he had left it. "Why didn't you unpack?"

Elena seemed to shrink back into the chair. "Well…"

"Elena." He pinned her in place with a no nonsense look. "What is wrong?"

"There weren't any hangers," she said, her excuse sounding feeble to both of them.

"I will pick up some more tomorrow. Until then, you can borrow some from my side." Damon could tell that wasn't the real reason she hadn't unpacked. "What is really going on here?"

When Elena didn't answer immediately, he crouched down in front of her and gently took her phone from her hands. He tossed it onto the bed and held her hands instead. Capturing her gaze, he said, "Talk to me."

Hesitantly, she admitted, "It made me too nervous."

"Nervous? Why?"

Elena swallowed anxiously and dropped her gaze, staring straight down at her lap as if embarrassed. "I have been interested in you for so long, and I used to fantasize about something like this happening. About you asking me to live with you," she explained. "And now I'm here in your home and we are together. and I wanted to be excited and optimistic about us—but then I remembered why I'm here—"

"You are here because I want you to be here," Damon cut in quickly and drew her gaze. "You are here because I care about you and because I want to share my home with you."

"My sister—"

"Isn't part of the equation, Elena," he insisted. "If this was just about keeping you safe, I would have left you in the penthouse. You were perfectly safe there." Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly. "You are here because I wanted you in my life." He kissed her again and relished the way she responded so sweetly. "You are here because you are special to me."

Her brown doe eyes lit up as he described her as being special to him. "You are special to me, too."

This time, Elena was the one who kissed him. Her small hands slid along his arms, over his shoulders and up the sides of his neck until she clasped his face. He let her have control, surrendering to her searching tongue and her soft, soft lips. After his workout, his legs were killing him in this cramped, crouched position, but he didn't dare move or complain. He would let his toes go numb before he ended this kiss.

When Elena shifted her hold on him, he answered her silent urging and put a knee onto the chair. Damon shivered when her hands slid under his loose T-shirt and stroked his bare stomach. The memories of her hands on his body last night were so new and fresh. Making more of them sounded like a very good idea right now, but he desperately needed a shower.

Elena eased off their increasingly more erotic kisses and smiled up at him, her expression relaxed and happy. Running her finger along his chin, she murmured, "This chair is too small."

"I will buy us a new one tomorrow." He nibbled at her amused grin. "The biggest, widest chair in the store."

"Or we could just move to your big, comfy bed," she suggested seductively and tapped his chin.

"Or," he nipped at her finger, "I can show you why this chair is the perfect size and height." Her blue-grey eyes sparked with interest and excitement. Taking that as permission, he gently pushed on her shoulders. "Lean back, baby."

Elena allowed him to manoeuvre her into the position he wanted. When Damon slid his hands under her oversized sweater and gripped the waistbands of her leggings and panties, she bit her lip in an anxious and uncertain way. He wasn't surprised by her nervousness. This was another first for her.

As he dragged the leggings and panties down her legs and whisked them off her bare feet, he considered how selfish he had been last night. He should have spent half the night with his face buried between her thighs, but he had been so focused on his needs that he hadn't even considered that she might want more than a few teasing licks. He intended to rectify that oversight right now.

Running his palms over her slim legs, he marvelled at the smooth, brown skin under his hands. Starting at her ankles, he dotted light kisses toward her thighs. He could feel the tension beneath his lips as he moved higher and higher. He assumed it was a mixture of excitement and nervousness that gripped her now.

Holding her curious gaze, he grasped her knees and pushed her thighs wide apart. He gently kneaded her inner thighs, massaging the stiffness and tension from her legs until they fell open in a relaxed way. Dragging his knuckles down her slit, he smiled devilishly at the way she shuddered. Her shaky breaths and the flush to her skin told him all he needed to know.

Using his thumbs, he explored her pussy. Soft. Pink. Wet. He dipped his thumb into her and gathered the slick heat there. Sliding easily now, he moved to her clit and traced the little pearl with the pad of his thumb. Her sharp intake of breath encouraged his movements. Drawing slow circles around that tiny bud, he teased Elena until she dropped her head back against the chair and closed her eyes.

Damon leaned down and swiped her slit. Her taste reminded him of the sea and he couldn't get enough. Hands on her inner thighs, he held her wide open and flicked at her clit. He took his time, nibbling and licking until she whimpered and clutched at his forearm. When he tugged the little bud between his lips, she arched off the chair, lifting her hips off the cushion and crying out as he tormented her.

Loving her reaction, he gripped her bottom in both hands and held her tight to his mouth as he feasted on her slick, soft heat. She made the wildest sounds, and he couldn't get enough. She was always so quiet, so reserved and sweet. He wanted Elena to lose control. He wanted to unleash that wanton wildcat that he knew was hidden just beneath her surface.

Forcing her thighs farther apart with his broad shoulders, he traced her clit with steady strokes. He didn't care if he was on his knees for the next hour. He was going to make her come and make her come hard.

Elena sucked in sharp, shaking breaths. Damon could feel the tension building in her legs. It wouldn't be long now. Fluttering his tongue faster and more firmly, he zeroed in on a rhythm that made her scratch at his forearm. He would have a few more marks for Stefan to tease him about at the gym tomorrow.

"Damon," she whispered. "Damon, please don't stop."

 _Always so polite,_ Damon thought with some amusement. But she didn't need to bother asking. He wasn't going to stop.

With a thrust of her hips, she pressed against his mouth and came with a ragged groan. He licked her right through that orgasm, cupping her perky ass and ravishing her with his tongue until she sagged against the chair. Wanting to give her a chance to recover before he pushed things to an even more intense level, he abandoned her clit and gripped the backs of her thighs. He pushed her knees toward her chest and grinned wolfishly at the way she was so beautifully displayed for him.

"What are you doing to me?" Elena's fingers were in his hair now, her short nails scratching at his scalp.

"What I should have done last night if I wasn't such a selfish asshole." He dipped his tongue into her and smiled at her little squeal of delight. Licking a finger, he got it nice and wet before sliding it into her tight channel. Worried she might still be sore after the way he had taken her last night, he eased his way inside and pumped slowly.

Damon returned to that pink pearl begging for his attention and fluttered his tongue over it. Elena gasped and swivelled her hips, silently urging him to continue. He understood her body now and it didn't take him very long to find the right rhythm this time. Her thighs fell open as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge. She draped one leg over his shoulder as he added a second finger and thrust deeper.

When he curled his fingers inside her pussy and stroked just so, her shoulders shot off the chair. She surged against him, and he had to hold her down with a hand firmly planted on her lower belly. Massaging a slow circle there, he worked her with his tongue and fingers until he drove her right into a powerful orgasm. Rocked by the pleasurable waves, she cried out his name until she fell back against the chair in a blissed-out state.

Satisfied that he had made up for his shortcomings last night, Damon placed a lingering kiss right on top of her clit and then dotted a line of them right up to her navel. He slid one of his hands across her belly and under her sweater. She wore no bra under the oversized top, and he appreciated the easy access to her lush breasts. He circled one nipple and then the other while taking in her relaxed, happy smile.

Brushing her fingers along his jaw, Elena said, "I have changed my mind. This chair is the perfect size. I think we should keep it."

Damon laughed and kissed her stomach. "Whatever you want, darling."


	17. Chapter 17

Still thrumming with aftershocks, Elena leaned back in the chair and watched Damon strip in the bathroom. His lean body rippled as he tossed his gym clothes into hampers tucked away in a cabinet. In the full light of day, she could see all the scars on his arms and legs. Someday she would ask him about each and every one of them. Even if the stories weren't particularly nice, he wouldn't hide anything from her.

 _Because he trusts me,_ Elena said to herself. _Just like I trust him._

The weight of that realization struck her suddenly. Damon seemed to prefer a language of doing rather than saying. Today, by inviting her into his home, he had shown me exactly what she meant to him and how much he trusted her.

For the first time in forever, Elena truly felt special. She felt as if she mattered. Knowing what it had taken for her to place her trust in Damon, she imagined it had been similarly as difficult for him. She had to respect that and treat his trust as a gift. She expected him to do the same for her.

 _I won't screw this up._

Damon came out of the bathroom wearing only a pair of swim trunks. They were black and fit his body like a glove. His erection was outlined in the thin fabric, and Elena wondered why he hadn't asked her to help him with that. He must have noticed her gaze lingering there because he said, "This can wait until tonight."

"You are sure?" Elena was more than willing to climb into bed with him.

"I'm sure." He crossed the room and leaned down to kiss her. "It is not quid pro quo with us, Elena. Sometimes I'm just going to throw you down, push your legs open and eat your pussy because I feel like it. I don't expect anything in return."

Reeling from his description, Elena flushed with heat. "You say the dirtiest things."

"And you absolutely love it," Damon remarked with a devilishly sexy grin. After he kissed her one more time, he stepped back. "I'm going down for a swim."

"It is raining," Elena reminded him and gestured to the window overlooking the lush backyard with the incredible pool, pergola and outdoor kitchen.

"There is a smaller indoor pool downstairs." He combed his fingers through her hair. "When you are done unpacking, come find me. We will talk about dinner."

"All right."

"The security alarm is on so you are safe inside the house."

"And if I need to go out or answer the door?"

"I would prefer that you didn't do either one of those without me, but the code is 1113." He glanced away briefly, and Elena realized there was a significance to that number. It didn't take her long to work it out. It was a date. A very significant date.

"The first time they sent me to your dealership was last November."

Damon nodded stiffly. "It was the thirteenth."

There was a flutter of something sweet and warm in her chest. "I see."

"Do you?" He pinned her in place with a searching look. "I had that security system installed two months after you started working at the dealership. Two months of seeing you once a week and I was already infatuated with you."

"I think maybe I had the same feelings for you after my first night there," Elena confessed, not wanting him to feel exposed.

"But we wasted all those months avoiding the obvious," he said with a shake of his head.

Elena grasped his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You know what they say about the best place to hide things…"

"Right under your nose," Damon said, a tender expression crossing his handsome face. He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. After stroking her jaw, he backed away and pivoted toward the door.

When Damon disappeared from the room, Elena found the strength to push out of the chair and onto my feet. Her legs were wobbly as she pulled on her panties and leggings. She tugged her suitcase through the master bathroom to the insane closet where Damon wanted her to store my things.

Standing there, Elena was reminded of the stark difference between his lifestyle and hers. Her entire mobile home would have fit in his master suite. The closet alone was bigger than her bedroom and Katherine's combined. She ran her fingers along his designer clothing, noticing the way he had everything organized so neatly. His collection of leather belts held her interest. Some of them were beautifully made and she admired the stitching.

Spotting the stack of hangers he had placed on the marble-topped island, Elena took the hint and started unpacking her things. There wasn't much in her luggage so it didn't take long. She found the hamper for her dirty clothes and decided to investigate the rest of the house so she could locate the laundry room.

When she was finished unpacking, she left the master suite and walked around the upper floor of Damon's mansion. She opened doors and poked her head inside the many rooms. She was a bit taken aback when she realized only two of the rooms were furnished. It clearly wasn't lack of money that kept him from finishing the guest rooms on the second floor. There had to be another reason for it—and Elena had a good feeling she knew what it was.

As Elena walked downstairs, she began to suspect that Damon had purchased this grand mansion in Mystic Falls as a way to prove to everyone else that he had arrived. He was a man who liked to nice things and liked to use luxury items like his watches, his suits and his fleet of vehicles to prove that he was successful and wealthy. That wasn't her style, but she understood it. She had seen what it was like when the people she grew up with got a taste of money. They immediately went for new cars or shiny rims or expensive clothes.

She suspected Damon had done the same thing. He wanted to prove he belonged. He wanted to prove that he had a successful business and was a man of worth and success.

But it had to be lonely in this beautiful house of his. All the marble and hardwood and expensive, luxury furniture in the world couldn't make up for the coldness of an empty mansion. Without anyone to share this incredible space with, he must have grown disinterested in decorating and furnishing after tackling the first three bedrooms upstairs. The other four had been left to languish, unused and empty.

Downstairs, Elena finally found the laundry room. There were two washers and two dryers plus a wall of built-in cabinets and an obscene amount of marble countertops. She tried to imagine what size family would need that many machines and that much folding space. Considering the dry cleaning tags she had seen upstairs in Damon's closet, she doubted he got much use out of this room at all.

The ringing doorbell startled her. Damon hadn't said anything about visitors. Wondering if Enzo had come back for some reason, she left the laundry room and made her way to the front of the house. The custom double doors made of wood and iron filigree had glass panels on the upper portion of the doors. Elena could see the outline of a single man through them and hesitated in the entryway.

She hadn't located Damon's indoor pool yet so she had no idea where he was or if he could even hear the doorbell. She backed away from the door, hoping the man out there hadn't seen her yet, and winced when the doorbell rang again. After the hell she had been through in the last three days, she was naturally suspicious and easily spooked.

And then Elena caught sight of the security system console mounted on the wall around the corner. The small screen showed a live feed from a camera mounted somewhere above the front doors. She recognized the man standing there almost instantly—and her stomach knotted with distress.

 _What is he doing here?_

Inhaling a steadying breath, Elena punched in the code Damon had given her and walked to the front door. She turned the deadbolt and door knob locks and opened the door a few inches. Trying to hide her anxiety, Elena faked a warm smile and hoped to hell Detective Alaric Saltzman couldn't tell her hands were shaking.

"Hello," Elena greeted softly. "Can I help you?"

"Elena?" Alaric's face registered shock. He took a step back and gazed up at the façade of Damon's house as if to reassure himself he was in the right place. "What are you doing here?"

"I sort of live here," Elena said, still not quite believing it herself. She didn't add that it was a temporary situation. She didn't need Alaric digging around in her personal life. "Are you here to speak with Damon?"

Alaric nodded. "I came here to speak with him about you actually."

"Me?"

"Well you are missing—"

"I'm not missing, Detective. I'm right here."

He shot her a perturbed look. "I think we need to talk."

Elena didn't want to talk to him. She really, really didn't. But she knew that if she acted odd or gave him any reason to suspect something wasn't right, he was going to make trouble for Damon.

She stepped aside and waved him into the house. "Come in, please."

Alaric entered, and Elena shut and locked the door behind him. She walked him into the living area and gestured towards one of the couches there. She took a seat in a chair across from him and tried to look calm and relaxed. She thought about asking him if he wanted something to drink, but she wasn't familiar enough with the house. If he saw her peeking through cabinets or going down the wrong hall, he would automatically know something was up.

After taking his seat, Alaric whipped out a notebook and pen and flipped to the page he wanted. "Your neighbours said they saw a truck at your house on Friday evening. They said three or four men got out of the truck and hassled you. Your landlord and his crew intervened." He lifted his gaze from his notes. "Does that fit your recollection of the evening?"

"Yes." Elena leaned back in the chair, drawing up her legs and crossing them. She tugged my oversized sweatshirt over her knees and reminded herself to be very, very careful with her answers.

"And do you want to tell me who those men were?"

"They were just some guys looking for Mason." The lie came so easily. Elena sort of hated herself for not telling Alaric the truth. He had been trying to help Katherine get straight for years. He was a good guy, and he was someone Elena had trusted—until her loyalty shifted to Damon.

"And?"

"And they left when I told them he wasn't there."

Alaric's expression remained impassive. She couldn't tell if he believed her or if he was using those super detective powers on her. "We have been trying to find your sister and Mason."

"Why?"

"Because we think they may have had something to do with the disappearance of this man," he said and flashed her the screen of his iPhone. "Do you know this guy?"

Expecting to see Kai's face, Elena reluctantly glanced at Alaric's phone. The license photograph wasn't his. It was some blond guy she had never seen. "No."

"His name is Edgar Vasquez. He went to school with Mason. They seem to have kept in touch and the rumour is that they are working together."

"Detective Saltzman, you know that I don't have anything to do with Mason or the life he lives. I barely tolerate Katherine's involvement."

"Is that why you have moved in here?"

"I live here because Damon asked me to live with him. It has nothing to do with Katherine." Lies. Lies. Lies.

"How long have you been dating?"

"I don't think my personal life has anything to do with that man." Elena motioned towards his phone. "I'm not going to answer questions about my relationship with Damon."

Alaric seemed surprised by her reply. Had he expected to push her around that easily? As if trying to push her buttons, he asked, "And those rumours about you and Kai Parker?"

Elena's face wrinkled with disgust. It was a reaction she couldn't hide. "There has never been anything between me and Kai. Those rumours are all lies."

"Even the one about you and Kai going into a back room together at the Arena on Friday night?" His arched eyebrows dared her to lie, and Elena knew she was caught.

Carefully, she explained, "I went to the Arena on Friday night looking for Katherine. She was supposed to be there with Mason." Not wanting to talk about what had happened in that back room, she came up with another lie on the fly. "I ran into Kai there. I couldn't hear him over the music and the crowd so he took me to a quiet room in the back. We talked for a few minutes about Katherine and the show and then I left."

"You just talked?" Alaric didn't believe her. "You are sure about that?"

"Yes." Elena didn't know what else to say.

"Because those bruises on your throat and on your face tell me another story, Elena."

Damn. Elena had completely forgotten about her busted up face. Alone with Damon and enzo there had been no reason to smear on concealer and foundation.

"Those bruises tell me a story I have heard from other girls who were unfortunate enough to run into Kai on a bad night," Alaric said. "They tell me that he tried to get rough with you." He tilted his head and studied her. "But I think you fought back. I think the story I heard about Kai getting the shit beat out of him by a pretty little dark-haired doll is true."

Elena swallowed nervously. "It was self-defence."

"I don't doubt that it was," Alaric assured her. "Kai is a pig. He got what he deserved." Sliding his pen into the metallic coils atop his notepad, he admitted, "I saw the footage of you going into the Arena. I also saw you going into the back of the building with him. I didn't see you come out the front or back exits, but I did see him stumbling out the back with a bloody towel on his head."

"I went out a window," Elena said quietly. "It was the only way out of that room."

He didn't have to ask why Elena hadn't called the police. "You realize he is not going to take that embarrassment lightly."

"I'm not worried about what Kai or anyone else thinks. Damon won't let anything happen to me."

Alaric narrowed his eyes. "I know what Damon used to be. I know what he still is."

"And what is that?"

"Take off those designer suits and those expensive watches and he is nothing but a gangster with money. He is a criminal who lives in a fancy house. He has got blood on those hands, and it doesn't wash off, Elena."

"Are you trying to scare me away from him? Because it won't work."

"Obviously," he said with a dark laugh. "You and your sister seem to have a type. I always thought you were the smarter sister. The one with goals. The one who was going places." He glanced around the beautiful room with its lavish décor and vaulted ceilings. "Looks like I was right about you going places and having goals. I was just wrong about the type of goals you had and what you were willing to do to attain them."

His barb hit its mark. Like a bullet to the chest, it burned through Elena, spreading humiliation and embarrassment as she realized what he was insinuating. Alaric thought she whored herself out for a big house and money.

"When was the last time you saw your sister?"

Still hurting from his cruel remark, Elena said, "Friday afternoon."

"And you haven't talked to her since then?"

"She texted me a few times. She heard about my run-in with Kai." It was close enough to the truth. "We haven't talked since yesterday."

"You should know that I'm going to pull Katherine's phone records. If you are lying—"

"Yesterday was the last time we spoke."

"May I see your phone?"

"Do you have a warrant?"

Alaric shot her a warning look. "I can get one."

"When you have one, come back and ask me again."

"You should be careful playing these kinds of games, Elena. You don't have nearly as much experience as Damon. You are bound to get burned."

Elena didn't have a smart reply to that.

"Was Mason with Katherine the last time you spoke to her?"

"I didn't hear him, but they never spend much time apart so who knows."

"And Kai? The last time you saw him?"

"Friday night," she lied.

"You haven't had any contact with him since then?"

"No." The lie came quickly and without a hint of emotion. Elena would take that secret to the grave rather than put Damon and Bonnie in danger.

"Tell me about your car."

His question threw her off but she quickly recovered. "It is in the shop." Not exactly a lie.

"The body shop, you mean," he interjected. "Because your boss told me someone beat your car to hell in the parking lot. He said that some guys in a truck that looked exactly like the one in front of your house took bats and crowbars to the car."

It seemed Alaric had done quite a bit of snooping before coming here to talk to Damon. "That was what he told me, too."

"And?"

"And nothing," Elena said with a careless shrug. "I called Damon, and he had one of his friends tow it to a shop."

"And that's it? No insurance claim? No police report."

"Damon took care of it," she reiterated.

Narrowing his eyes, Alaric asked, "Is Damon going to take care of Kai?"

And that was when Elena realized that Alaric didn't know Kai was dead.

Treading carefully, she said, "No."

"I find it hard to believe a man like Damon is going to let someone like Kai put his hands on his woman and not doing anything about it."

 _You have no idea,_ Elena thought grimly. "Believe whatever you want, but I'm telling you the truth."

"Maybe I will ask Damon about Kai," Alaric said in a threatening tone.

"Fine." If Alaric thought he could outsmart Damon when it came to something like this, he was a fool. Alaric had said it best. Damon was a gangster through and through. He was never going to let the police get a step ahead of him. "That is why you are here isn't it?"

"I'm here because I heard a rumour on the streets that Damon was playing sugar daddy to a cleaning lady. I figured he might know where you and your sister were hiding."

"I'm not hiding. I'm right here."

Alaric grunted in annoyance. "Where is Damon?"

"He is swimming."

Alaric shot her a disbelieving look. "It is raining."

"In his other pool," Elena corrected. "It is indoors."

"Of course it is," he grumbled and rose to his feet. Stuffing his notepad into his pocket, he said, "Tell your boyfriend I'm going to come see him at the dealership tomorrow."

Alaric should have known that type of intimidation tactic wasn't going to work on Damon. "I will make sure to let him know to expect you."

"You do that."

Elena stood up, and Alaric thrust one of his business cards at her. "If you hear from your sister, you need to call me." He stared down at her, and she tried not to look away, desperate not to reveal her guilt. "That friend of Mason's? Edgar? His neighbour called in a disturbance, but when the police went inside his apartment, you know what they found?"

Elena shook her head slowly, not wanting to hear Alaric's answer.

"Six fingers and a cracked computer monitor with his blood and hair on it," Alaric said in an ominous tone. "That's it."

Elena didn't even want to think about what had happened to the rest of Edgar. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you this because your sister is in deep shit, Elena. This is so much bigger than the dog fighting a few weeks ago. This is bigger than even the drug dealing Mason does."

"I don't know anything about Katherine or Mason or this Edgar guy. That is not my life, Detective."

"You better hope to hell it isn't," he warned. "If I'm knocking on this door looking for you, who else do you think is coming next? Kai? Those men who hassled you at your house and totalled your car?"

Alaric was so far behind on this case. Elena almost felt bad for him. He had no idea that Kai was dead or that Mason and Katherine had double-crossed him. He probably assumed Mason was dead and maybe even thought the same thing about Katherine.

 _Stay out of it, Elena. Don't say a word. You have to protect Damon and Bonnie_ , she reminded herself.

"I'm a big girl, Detective. I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't." Alaric's mouth flattened into a grim line. "But that mobbed-up boyfriend of yours can."

For a long moment, they simply stared at one another. Alaric must have sensed that Elena wasn't going to say anything else. He turned on his heel and marched towards the front door. She let him out, and he left without another word.

Thinking of what he said about other people coming to look for her, Elena locked the door and switched on the security system. Feeling ill at ease and worried about this new complication, she went in search of Damon. She finally found him in a room connected to his home gym.

It was like walking into a high-end spa with the honey-coloured travertine and glass walls and doors. There were potted plants and miniature trees in the corners of the room and plenty of comfortable seating. The French doors along the back wall overlooked another part of his property that she wanted to explore when the weather wasn't quite so bleak.

Elena stepped into the pool room and watched Damon gliding through the water. The rectangular pool was narrow and long and perfect for swimming laps. It seemed a bit wasteful to her to have two pools, and she didn't even want to think about the upkeep costs of an arrangement like that. More and more, she suspected Damon's money wasn't just from his dealerships and that trucking company he owned. There was no way he was clearing enough money from those businesses to live like this.

But she wasn't sure she really wanted to know where the money came from. She remembered what Enzo had said. she shouldn't ask questions. Maybe Enzo had the right idea. He had obviously figured out a way to survive in the shadowy world Damon had once lived in and she would do well to heed his advice before she found herself in even more trouble.

Not wanting to disturb Damon while he swam, Elena sat on one of the lounge chairs near the pool and waited. It was no hardship watching him. His powerful body cut through the water at a steady speed. She envied his ease in the water. Swimming had never been a skill she had tackled. Even now, water deeper than a bathroom tub made her nervous.

She hadn't been sitting there long before Damon noticed her. He paused at the far end of the pool and wiped the water from his face and eyes. His happy expression turned to one of concern, his forehead furrowing with worry when he had a good look at her. After Alaric's mini interrogation, she didn't have the energy to smile and look pretty.

Damon swam to her side of the pool and rested his forearms on the tile deck. "Elena? What is wrong? You look upset."

Elena held up the business card. "Alaric Saltzman was just here."

Damon's expression turned stormy. "The detective? He was here? In my house?"

Even though he hadn't raised his voice, Elena could tell he was upset. "Yes."

Damon swore under his breath. "You shouldn't have let him inside, Elena. It is not safe to have the police poking around in our business."

Hearing him call this mess our business made it seem somehow less daunting. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. He was standing on the front porch, and I didn't think it was a good idea to let him walk away without answering."

"It is all right. I know this is new territory for you. The next time you see Alaric, you tell him that you are not talking to him without a lawyer."

"I don't have a lawyer, Damon."

"You will. Tomorrow morning, I'm getting you one."

"That seems a bit extreme."

"Do I need to remind you of all the shit that had happened since Friday? You need a lawyer." Running his fingers through his wet hair, Damon asked, "What did Alaric want?"

"He was looking for me. Apparently, I'm missing."

Damon cursed again. "And he came here because…?"

"I guess there is a rumour about you and me going around," Elena said with a sad smile. "People like to talk."

"Yes, they do." Clearly unhappy to be the subject of the underworld rumour mill, he asked, "What else did Alaric want?"

"He knows that Kai and I got into an altercation at the Arena. He has video evidence."

"Damn."

"Yeah. But he doesn't seem to know about anything else." Elena didn't want to say the words, and she didn't need to because Damon understood.

"None of it?" Damon seemed surprised.

"He warned me to be careful about Kai. He also told me to call him if I see or hear from Katherine or Mason."

"He doesn't have the faintest clue, does he?" Damon shook his head in disbelief. "Well that is good news for us."

"I guess."

"It is," Damon reassured her.

"Alaric told me to tell you that he is going to visit you at the dealership tomorrow."

Damon snorted with amusement. He wasn't the least bit intimidated. "As if he can rattle me with a threat like that!"

"Damon," Elena said pleadingly. "Please be careful. I have known Alaric a long time, and he is not the sort of man to let things go. He is like a dog with a bone, and if he thinks there is a chance you are involved with this whole mess, he will make your life a living hell."

"I would like to see him try," Damon replied, totally unfazed. "He doesn't scare me. My relationship with Alaric goes back years. Back to the days when he was a patrol cop." Clearly interested in her history with Alaric, he asked, "How do you know him?"

"Alaric was the first cop to bust Katherine. That was way back when my mother was still around," Elena said, her brain bombarded with memories she didn't want. "He also responded to some of the 9-1-1 calls when things got out of hand between mum and her boyfriends."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Elena." The tenderness in his gaze was enough to make her forget all about Alaric's visit. "You deserved a better childhood than that."

"I survived it, and I'm better for it." In so many ways, Elena believed that. "You had a rough start in life, too. You didn't deserve that either."

"Most of the rough things in my background were past tense." Not wanting to talk about his past, he held out his hand. "Come into the pool with me."

Elena gulped and shrank back. "No, thank you."

"Come swim with me, Elena."

"I don't have a bathing suit." She stated the obvious and gestured to her leggings and sweater.

"We are alone in the house. Take it off, and get in the water with me." He ran his hand through water. "It is warm."

Feeling embarrassed, Elena realized she couldn't come up with enough excuses and finally admitted, "I don't know how to swim. I never learned."

Damon's eyebrows arched with surprise. "As hot as it is here in the summers and you never learned to swim?"

"There weren't many pools in the neighbourhoods I grew up in," she said somewhat bitterly.

"Take off your clothes," Damon ordered.

"What?"

"Strip."

Biting her lip, Elena thought about telling him no but he had that gleam in his eye. Slowly, she rose to her feet and started peeling out of her clothes. Naked and feeling vulnerable, she stood in front of Damon.

"Come sit on the edge of the pool." He patted the space right in front of him. When she hesitated, he promised, "I won't pull you in or try to do anything stupid like that. Just come sit here and put your feet in the water."

Trusting him, Elena did as he asked and sat on the cold tile. she slipped my feet into the pool. The warm water lapped at her calves. It felt nice, but she was terrified of going in any deeper.

As if sensing her fear, Damon put his hands on her waist. "You are perfectly safe with me, Elena."

"I know." She rested her hands on his shoulders. "I'm just afraid."

"It is okay to be afraid." He touched his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. "This water isn't that deep. I'm standing flat footed right now."

The water hit him mid-chest, but with their height difference, Elena was pretty sure it would cover her neck.

"If you wrap your legs around my waist, I will hold you up."

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. "Wrap my legs around your waist, huh?"

Damon laughed. "Humour me."

Swallowing anxiously, she nodded. "Okay."

Damon enveloped her in his strong arms and lifted her off the edge of the pool. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he gently lowered her into the water. "I have got you, darling."

Even though Elena knew he never would, she begged, "Please don't let go."

"Never," he promised and kissed her again. Floating in the warm water and safe in his arms, his sensual kiss ignited her passion like a spark to dry tinder. His incredible body, hard and honed, supported her so easily. Damon flicked his tongue against hers, and her thighs tightened around him in response. There was a flutter in her lower belly, and Elena moaned against his mouth.

Pulling back, she gazed down at him and whispered, "I have a feeling I'm not going to get that swimming lesson."

"Probably not," he agreed, a relaxed smile playing upon his lips. "But there is always tomorrow."

As Damon kissed her again and slid one of his big hands down to cup her bottom, Elena had a pretty good feeling they wouldn't get to the swimming lesson tomorrow either…


	18. Chapter 18

When Damon's alarm sounded early the next morning, he did the unthinkable. He slapped the top of the annoying machine until he found the button to switch it off and then curled around Elena's lithe body. She made a soft, kittenish sound as he kissed a lazy line from her shoulder to her neck and up to her ear. He didn't want to wake her so he left it there and simply held her until her breaths deepened and she relaxed completely.

Long conditioned to be out of bed before the sun, he wanted to linger in bed with her this morning. The thought of being separated from her during the coming day was almost too much to bear. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he was the boss and he could take the entire day off if he wanted. Those were the perks of running his own businesses.

But that was a slippery slope. Damon had seen what happened to businesses run by absentee owners. If he gave in to the urge to call off and stay in bed with Elena today, Tuesday would be even harder and Wednesday damn near impossible.

Deciding to skip his usual morning run, he closed his eyes and breathed in her feminine scent. Flashes of their evening together taunted him. Once he had her in the pool with him, it hadn't taken him long to show her all the different ways they could enjoy the water. They had ordered delivery and kicked back in his media room to watch the Food Network which was, apparently, her favourite channel. She started to nod off during one of the cooking competitions so they had cut their night short.

It wasn't a particularly remarkable night, but Damon had enjoyed it more than any other night he could remember. Sitting there next to Elena in his media room, he had realized just how lonely he was and how empty his life had become. In his drive to amass more wealth and more expensive things and his desperate need to keep himself walled off from other people, he had starved himself of the most necessary things for a man.

When Elena had placed her head in his lap and dragged his arm over her waist so she could hold his hand while watching television, he had experienced the strangest yearning sensation. Like a lump he couldn't swallow, his emotions had balled up in his throat. She would never understand how something so innocent could affect him in such a way.

"You are going to be late," Elena murmured sleepily.

"I have plenty of time to get to work." He nuzzled the back of her neck and stroked her stomach through the thin cotton nightshirt she wore. "Hear that rain hitting the windows? I have no desire to lace up my running shoes and splash through that when I can stay right here with you for another hour."

Elena interlaced her fingers with his and dragged his hand under her shirt. "I have an idea how you can still burn some calories here in bed with me."

Laughing softly, Damon nipped at her earlobe. "Show me."

Elena guided his hand to her bare breast. He could feel her heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's underneath his fingertips. With her hand resting atop his, he caressed her silky skin. He cupped her breasts and brushed his thumb over her nipples, feeling them pucker and harden as she breathed a little faster and shallower.

Reaching back, Elena slid her hand into the loose shorts he liked to sleep in and discovered his hardening cock. She stroked the length of him, coaxing him to grow harder and longer. As he kissed her neck and shoulder, she pushed back against him, rubbing her tight little ass against his dick in a daring way.

Never one to turn away an invite like that, Damon grasped the bottom of her shirt and dragged it up her body. Elena shifted so he could remove it and helped him when he tugged on her panties. It didn't take him long to kick off his shorts.

Skin to skin, they kissed passionately. Damon couldn't get enough of this woman—his woman—and wondered if she had any idea of the powerful sway she held over him. Like a witch, Elena had enchanted him and held him right in the palm of her hand.

When Elena arched onto her back and tried to wrap her legs around his waist, to draw him inside her and get the satisfaction she craved, he made a low warning sound and lifted off her nubile body. He manhandled Elena, drawing an excited laugh from her, and flipped her right onto her belly.

Shoving aside her hair, he nibbled her nape and kissed across her shoulders. She wiggled her bottom, and he gave her a good smack, causing her to yelp and hiss. But she wasn't daunted by that brief bite of pain. She pushed back even harder, almost as if to test his resolve. He answered her teasing wiggle with another swat and another.

"Damon!" Desperation filled her voice. "Please."

"Please what?" He skimmed his lips down her spine. Those scars crisscrossing her back still hadn't been discussed, but they would have to be soon. For now, he put them out of his mind and concentrated on the beautiful, sexy woman begging him to take her.

"I can't take anymore," she said, nearly breathless. "Don't make me wait."

"Be patient." Smiling, Damon brushed his mouth over her back. "Patience."

He nudged her thighs apart and cupped between them. Elena inhaled a ragged breath of excitement, the sound urging him to continue. She was already wet for him when he probed her with one finger and then two. Dropping her head to the mattress, Elena moaned as he worked her with both hands, thrusting into her pussy with two fingers on hand and strumming her clit with the other. She swivelled her hips, and he moved his hands at a faster pace until she came with a strangled groan. Her back bowed as she rode his fingers until the last burst of bliss left her.

Gripping her hips, he hauled Elena onto her knees and pushed them apart. He sheathed himself with one swift thrust. She clawed at sheets and rocked back against him. He took her easily at first, enjoying the leisurely pace and sweeping his hands up and down her back. The grey light creeping through the windows washed over her body, but it wasn't enough to highlight the sensual curves he'd grown to love so much.

Cloaked in shadow, Damon ran his palms over her perfect ass. Wondering if she might be interested in one of his favourite bedroom activities, he dragged his thumb between her plump cheeks and then circled the tight pucker hidden away there. She gasped when he touched her so intimately, but she didn't pull away or tell him to stop.

Permission granted, he drew lazy circles around it, applying a subtle pressure, but he didn't try to penetrate her. She wasn't ready for that yet, and he would only hurt her if he tried to slide in dry. But he could tell by her excited breaths and movements that she liked the way it felt. She was definitely curious, and he intended to help her explore that curiosity soon.

Damon slid his hand along her waist and down the slope of her lower belly until he touched her clitoris. She bucked against his hand, and he grinned devilishly. She responded so beautifully and easily. The combination of his deep, measured thrusts and his rubbing fingers was enough to push her over the edge again.

Her orgasm felt incredible for him. The sensation of her snug pussy gripping him as she cried out his name made his balls ache. Dropping his hand, he gripped her hips and took her faster. She jerked on the sheets, her fingers fisting around the fabric as she met each powerful thrust. Deeper. Harder. Faster. He chased that burning, throbbing pull building at the base of his spine.

Taking her hair in one hand, Damon pulled her head back, gently but with some force, and bit the side of her neck. He wanted to leave a love bite right there, a little mark to remind her that she belonged to him and that she drove him crazy when they were together. Elena's shocked gasp was the trigger for his orgasm. Buried deep inside her, he closed his eyes as a pleasurable bolt rocked him.

They collapsed together onto the bed. Tangled in the sheets that had popped free, they panted and trembled. When Elena turned toward him, he gathered her hot body in his arms and drew her in close. She pressed sweet, soft kisses on his jaw, each one causing his heart to swell with his unspoken love for her.

The urge to confess it all was so strong, but Damon knew she wasn't ready. Instead, he declared, "I will forget about running! I'm going to set my alarm for this every morning."

Elena giggled and pressed up on one hand. Looking down at him, she caressed his face. Her hair fell around them like a curtain. He almost couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Running her finger around his lips, she whispered, "You amaze me."

"If you think this amazing, wait until you see what I have planned for tonight."

Elena laughed again and bent down to kiss him. Drawing back, she said, "I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going to cook you breakfast."

"You don't have to do that."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Let me guess. Mistresses don't cook breakfast, right?"

"No, they don't." _But wives do,_ Damon thought wistfully.

Touching her forehead to his, she whispered playfully, "Then I guess it is a good thing I have never played by the rules."

He patted her bottom. "A very good thing."

Elena kissed him one last time before crawling over him and sliding out of bed. He gave her a few minutes of privacy in the bathroom and waited until he heard the shower running to join her. Glad for the multiple shower heads, he went through his usual morning routine, but he kept sneaking glances at Elena as she washed and conditioned her hair, shaved her legs and soaped up her body.

Damon had always dreaded this kind of closeness with another person. With earlier relationships, he had feared sharing his home with a woman with a nearly claustrophobic desperation. Today he couldn't bear the thought of Elena straying beyond arm's reach.

When she stepped out of the shower, he switched off the water and followed her. Watching her dab the water from her skin and rub lotion into her legs and arms was better than a striptease. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he decided he liked how comfortable she had grown with him. They had come a long way since that first night at the penthouse when she had covered up like a nun and run for cover behind a door to avoid being seen.

Standing at the counter, he leaned down at the sink and splashed hot water on his face before reaching for his shaving brush and the canister of shaving soap he preferred. He had just started to work up a lather with the brush when he noticed Elena standing in front of her meagre selection of clothing. Wearing only her panties, she held a pair of those black yoga pants she liked and reached for the last remaining clean shirt.

As he lathered up his face, he said, "We will have to get your things from the house."

"If we don't, I will have to raid your side of the closet."

The thought of Elena in his button-downs brought a smile to his face. When she was dressed, she wrapped her damp hair in a towel and brushed her fingers across his back. He paused his shaving to quickly sneak in a kiss before she moved out of reach.

"Damon!" She laughed and wiped at the shaving foam on her chin and nose.

Chuckling, Damon handed her the nearest towel. "Sorry."

"I doubt it." She cleaned her face and put the towel back on the counter. She leaned toward the mirror and eyed the love bite on her neck. "And this?"

"Not sorry," he said, scraping his razor down his cheek.

"Just remember that two can play that game," she warned as she backed out of the bathroom. "Maybe tomorrow I will send you to work looking like the quarterback after the homecoming dance…"

Damon wasn't so sure that was a bad thing, but he didn't dare tell her that. He finished his morning routine and put on a crisp black suit and shoes. He picked out a watch and cufflinks, slung his jacket over his shoulder and left the master suite. Downstairs in his office, he crouched down to open the safe hidden in the credenza behind his desk.

As was his habit, he counted the neatly stacked envelopes of cash, ensuring not a single one was missing. Each envelope contained a mix of cash, the notes bound tightly in their brightly coloured currency straps, and the dollar amounts contained within written on the upper right corner of each one. He had a good idea of the monthly salary Elena brought home so he added it to the allowance figure he had in mind for her so she could cover her expenses and have plenty extra to spend on herself.

After he gathered up the envelopes he needed for Enzo and made a mental count of the amount of replacement cash he needed from the bank, he eyed the extra set of house keys and the key to the garage lockbox. When he had called in a locksmith to change all the locks the day that he closed on the property, the locksmith had assumed he would need a set for his wife. Damon had dropped them in the new safe a few days later, and the set had been waiting here ever since.

Waiting for her…

His phone started to ring as Damon was locking up the safe. Tossing the envelopes of money and the keys onto the credenza, he answered it. "Hello?"

"Damon?"

"Yes." He closed the cabinet door guarding the safe and rose to his full height. He pocketed the extra set of keys.

"It is Spider. I wanted to let you know that my girl is boxing up Elena's place. I will have some of my guys drive the truck over to your penthouse this afternoon."

"No, have them bring it to my house." He rattled off the address while gathering up the envelopes. "Enzo can help your men unload the truck."

"Whatever you want," Spider replied.

"Is there a balance on the lease?"

"They just renewed in May."

"Have someone run a bill to my office. I will cut a cheque to cover the rest of their lease."

"If that is the way you want it," Spider said. "But you should know that the police were crawling all over that house yesterday."

"So I have heard," Damon confirmed with irritation.

"I trust you know how to handle your business." Spider didn't need to say anything else. "If you need my help, you know where to find me."

The call ended and Damon pocketed his phone. Envelopes in hand, he made his way to the kitchen, his stomach growling as he inhaled the delicious scents wafting from there. When he arrived, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Elena cooking.

Lingering in the doorway, he watched the way she moved around the kitchen with ease, tending a pan on the gas stove and keeping an eye on something in the built-in ovens at the same time. She was totally at home in this environment.

Sensing his presence, Elena glanced back at him. "I'm almost finished."

"I'm in no rush." And he really wasn't. He would find any excuse to enjoy every single moment of his first morning with Elena in his home.

He entered the kitchen and placed the envelopes on the counter, out of the way. He noticed the damp towel draped over the back of one of the tall chairs at the counter. Elena had quickly and loosely braided her damp hair to get it out of the way. He gave the end of her braid a playful tug as he passed behind her to reach the coffee pot. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No."

"I think I have some orange juice in the refrigerator." He wasn't ever sure what he had in there, to be honest. His housekeeper kept the place stocked with the things he liked, and he magically never seemed to run out.

"That is fine." Elena returned her attention to the breakfast she was cooking. He glanced at the stove as his coffee sputtered into its cup and watched her spread some of the creamy white béchamel she had made onto the golden brown ham and cheese sandwiches she had been toasting in the oven. She carefully slipped the pan back into the oven before flipping the eggs she was frying.

Damon put away the ingredients she had finished using and poured a glass of juice for her. He set the table in the breakfast nook and had just taken his seat when she brought over two plates with piping hot croque-madame. There was a sprinkling of chives on top of each egg. She had decorated each plate with thinly sliced oranges twisted to form figure eights and sliced, fanned strawberries.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble. I'm glad that you did because it looks delicious, and I'm starving, but I would have been happy with a bowl of oatmeal."

"Remember that tomorrow when I slide a bowl of gruel in front of you," she warned and took her seat.

"It wouldn't be the first time I have eaten watery thin kasha for breakfast." He stabbed his fork into the soft yolk and watched the yellow cream mix with the béchamel. "That was standard breakfast I got when Dad was so busy working as a street soldier."

He was just cutting through his sandwich when he noticed Elena wasn't moving. He glanced up and frowned at her stricken face. "What is it?"

"I'm so sorry, Damon. I shouldn't have made a joke like that."

"Elena," he said with a quiet laugh, "it doesn't bother me to talk about that part of my life." He paused to reflect. "What I should say is that it doesn't bother me to talk about that part of my life with you."

"Why doesn't it bother you?" She seemed genuinely curious.

"I don't know," he admitted uncomfortably.

Elena popped her egg yolk with the tines of her fork. "Maybe you don't mind talking to me because you know I won't judge you. I'm basically the poster child for a dysfunctional family."

"Maybe," Damon agreed quietly. Her mention of dysfunctional families made him think of those scars on her back. Asking her about them in the bedroom or shower had seemed like a bad idea. He didn't want her to feel attacked or self-conscious about her body. Here in the kitchen, he felt relatively safe asking her about them. "Elena?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"Can we talk about the scars on your back?"

Elena froze. Like a deer caught in the headlights, she panicked right in front of him. She opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. Focusing all of her attention on her breakfast, she stabbed at it with her fork. "No, we can't."

"Elena," he pushed gently, "I have told you about my scars. The stories behind these," he gestured to the markings on his hand, "are surely a thousand times worse than the story about your back."

"You are probably right, but it is my story to tell when I'm ready to tell it."

"And when will that be?"

She dropped her fork. It bounced off her plate with a noisy clatter. Exasperated, she asked, "Seriously, Damon, what is the big deal? They are scars. End of story."

"If it is not a big deal, you should have no problem telling me how they happened." Unable to comprehend why she was being so cagey about this, he began to fear something truly horrific had happened to her. Worried he might unknowingly do something to trigger pain or fear, he insisted, "I think I have the right to know about your body."

"Why would you think that? Because we had sex? You think have ownership over me?" Obviously angered by his remark, Elena said, "I'm not a car, Damon. You don't get a rundown of all my dings and scratches before you buy me."

Realizing he had pushed too far, he hurried to fix things between them. "I didn't mean it like that, Elena. I only meant that I think I have the right to know who hurt you."

"Why? Look, it happened a long time ago. It is done. It is over. I don't want to think about any of that ever again, okay?" Her appetite gone, she stood up and grabbed her plate. Before retreating to the sink, she snapped, "If the scars bother you that much, I'm sure you can find someone else to sleep with, Damon."

"Stop right there, Elena!" Damon was on his feet in an instant and intercepted her before she reached the island. Taking the plate from her hand, he set it aside and then gripped both of her small hands in his larger ones. Knowing that he had caused the pain and embarrassment that was etched into her face made him feel like the biggest dick in the world.

"Elena," he whispered, trying to figure out how to make it right. "I'm sorry." He pulled her in tight and touched his forehead to hers. "I didn't mean to upset you like this. It was stupid of me to push and push like that."

Damon lifted his head and gazed down at her, trying to gauge her emotional state. Her lower lib wobbled precariously, and he knew that apology wasn't enough. She needed to know why.

Stroking her cheek, he explained, "Our first night together, I didn't have all the facts, and I hurt you." Elena opened her mouth to argue with him, but he silenced her gently with a finger against her soft lips. "I did hurt you, Elena. I don't ever want to hurt you again. If something happened to you, if someone hurt you so badly they left scars, I need to know how it happened so that I never do anything that might make you think of person or that time when we are alone together."

Not sure she understood exactly what he meant, Damon continued, "I have popped your backside three or four times since we have been together, Elena. I grabbed your wrists that first night and held you down while I made love to you and—"

"I liked it," Elena admitted quietly. "I really like it when you do those things." With a blush in her cheeks, she said, "I hope you don't stop just because of some scars on my back."

"I told you before, Elena. You are in control of that part of our life together. Whatever you want, I will give you."

She nodded once. Then, with a tired sigh, she said, "Unless your bedroom kink includes beating me with an extension cord and then locking me in a dark closet for two days, I don't think you need to worry about setting me off on some spiral into my horrible childhood memories."

Damon sucked in a sharp breath at her description of the events that had led to the scars on her back. The shock he felt was quickly subsumed by raging fury. "How old were you?"

"Ten," she said.

Damon remembered seeing the photos of Elena and her sister when they were younger on the walls of her house. Just imagining that sweet, innocent pigtailed little girl treated so brutally sickened him. He wanted to hurt someone for her. It might be thirteen years too late, but he wanted to give her justice. "What was his name?"

"What?" She seemed confused by his question.

"The man who hit you," he clarified. "Tell me his name."

Elena put a soothing hand on his chest. "It wasn't a man." She hesitated before admitting, "It was my mother."

"Why?" He couldn't think of any reason a mother would beat a child so terribly.

Elena dropped her gaze to the floor, and instantly, Damon knew he wasn't going to like what she had to say. "I came home one afternoon, and Mum's boyfriend was trying to hurt Katherine. He had her boxed into a corner and had his hand up her skirt. I didn't know what else to do so I hit him with my backpack and kicked him."

He wanted to ask what happened next, but he didn't want to interrupt or pressure her. She needed to tell this story in her own time.

"Katherine ran out the back door, and she left me there with him. I think she was so traumatized that she wasn't thinking straight."

 _Bullshit,_ Damon thought angrily. Even back then, Katherine was only concerned with herself.

"He got up and…" Elena's voice faded. After a few tense seconds, she said, "He sort of leered at me and then he told me that if I was jealous of his attention towards Katherine he had plenty to give me."

 _Oh no. God, no,_ Damon silently begged.

"I backed up into the kitchen, and he kept coming towards me. He was excited, but I didn't really understand it then. It wasn't until I was a little older that I understood it all the things he said to me and the way he was touching himself."

Elena gripped her left wrist with her right hand and rhythmically squeezed it in a way that could only be described as a nervous tic. Not wanting her to feel alone right now, he took her hand and interlaced their fingers, giving her something to squeeze and hold onto for support.

"But he made a mistake backing me into that kitchen," Elena said, her voice stronger now. "I had done the dishes the night before so they were laid out neatly in the dish rack. I grabbed a knife, and I cut him." She touched her arm and chest and neck. "I just slashed at him. It wasn't very deep, but he was bleeding everywhere when Mum walked into the house. She had just gotten off a double shift, and she lost it when she saw the blood and the knife."

Knowing what a kind, gentle soul Elena was, Damon could hardly fathom how terrified she must have been to lash out in violence to protect herself. "What do you mean? Lost it how?"

"He started telling her all this bullshit about me and Katherine, telling her that we were lying little whores and that we wanted to break them up because we wanted him all to ourselves. He told her that we flirted with him all the time when she was at work and that we liked to walk around half-naked after our showers in the evening. She just ate it right up. He said he was leaving, and they started fighting. It was awful, and I just—I wanted to get out of there, but I didn't know where to go. It was almost Christmas, and it was so cold…"

"And your mother took her anger out on you," Damon guessed, doing everything he could to hide the disgust he felt.

"Pretty much," Elena sadly agreed.

Damon had never hit a woman in his life, but an exception would have to be made if he ever crossed paths with Elena's mother.

"Katherine came home two nights later, and I was still locked in the closet. She got me out of there and took me to Mason's apartment. He was living on his own by then, and he and Katherine had already been making plans to run off and get married as soon as she was old enough. But then Mum split and Katherine's dreams of getting married went with her."

"Is that why you let Katherine get away with so much?" Damon was finally starting to understand the depth of Elena's guilt when it came to her older sister. If she imagined herself to be the reason her sister wasn't able to get married and start a new life, there was nothing she wouldn't do to help Katherine now.

"The Katherine you know isn't the Katherine I grew up with," Elena insisted.

"If you say so," he replied.

"I do say so—and I know what you are going to ask next," Elena said with a frown. "You are going to ask about that boyfriend of Mum's."

"I was," he admitted. "He deserves what he has got coming to him."

"He deserved a lot of things, but he is dead."

"When? How?"

Elena shrugged uncertainly. "New Year's Eve of that year. He was stabbed to death in the bathroom at a club."

"Mason?" For a young man with aspirations towards the inner circle of a street game, the dishonour that was done to Katherine would never have been allowed to stand. Mason would have been expected to spill blood to avenge Katherine.

Elena nodded. "For all his faults, he loves Katherine. He would do anything for her."

Damon didn't correct her verb tense. It was better that she referred to Mason as alive rather than dead, especially if Alaric Saltzman was going to be snooping around her.

Cupping the back of her neck, he tilted her head back and held her gaze. "Are we all right?"

"We are good."

"I'm sorry I upset you." He kissed her lovingly. "I didn't mean to ruin our morning."

"You didn't ruin it." She kissed him right back. "We are probably going to argue like this more often than either of us would like. Especially right now," she added, "when our relationship is so new."

"I wouldn't know," he replied carefully. "The women I dated before you didn't argue with me."

Elena actually snorted with laughter. Arching one of those winged brows at him, she warned, "Don't expect a free pass from me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Damon didn't tell her that he sometimes enjoyed the way she pushed back. He needed a woman who wouldn't let him get away with bullshit. He needed a woman brave enough to call him out when it was required.

Holding her hand, he picked up her plate and led her back to the table. He made himself a second cup of coffee before joining her.

"Is it okay if Bonnie comes over today?" Elena asked in between bites.

Damon was struck by the uncomfortable way her query made him think of a child's relationship with a parent. Their relationship already had problems of inequality when it came it money, age and experience. He didn't want to add another layer to that. "Elena, you don't need to ask permission to have guests."

"But, at the penthouse, you said—"

"That was different." Damon cringed at the memory of the things he had said to her there. Damn. She must have thought he was a controlling asshole with all his rules and stipulations! Now, knowing what he did of her experience with men and relationships, he realized that it had obviously never occurred to her to negotiate with him. That was part of the give-and-take between mistresses and their benefactors.

Wanting a fresh start, he stated, "The arrangement between us has changed. I would prefer to be told before you have guests in the house only because I'm concerned about your safety. This home is your home."

Elena pushed food around her plate. "For how long?"

 _Forever._ But he didn't say that. It would scare her if she found out he was thinking long-term after only a few days. She needed time to get comfortable with their living arrangement and to decide that she wanted to stay with him. "For as long as you would like," he said instead.

She seemed satisfied with that response. "Do you mind if I work in here? I have some orders that need to be finished this week."

"You can set up your workshop wherever you would like. The kitchen probably has the most available space." He glanced around the room and sized up the work surfaces. "But you might like the privacy of my office more. The housekeeper rarely goes in there so she won't bother you much."

"When does she get here?"

"Around ten." He glanced at his watch to make sure he had enough time to get to the dealership in time to prepare for the morning sales floor meeting. "I let her come in late because she takes her grandchildren to school. Her daughter works an overnight shift at one of the hospitals downtown. She is usually out of here by two or three so you will have the house to yourself most of the day."

"Except for Enzo."

"Yes, and that reminds me…" Damon lifted his hips so he could get his hand into the pocket of his trousers to retrieve the keys. Taking her hand, he turned it over and placed the keys on her palm. "These are yours. This key opens the front door. This one opens the door between the mud room and the garage. This one opens the lockbox in the garage where I store the keys to my vehicles. You may drive any of them."

Damon closed her fingers around the keys. "You are the only with these keys. The housekeeper has a garage door opener that allows her into her parking space, and I leave the side door open for her. Enzo will need you to open doors for him. You will have to pick the car you would like him to drive each day."

"Do you have, like, a minivan with two different coloured doors and maybe rusted out rims? Because I would really like to see Enzo driving that around town today," Elena said with some irritation.

"Elena," he said carefully, "Enzo isn't used to dealing with women. He is a street soldier. You have to make some allowances for his behaviour. Not all of it, but some of it. I spoke with Enzo yesterday and made it very clear that he isn't to upset you again."

Elena sat back in her chair and played with the keys he had given her. "I don't think he meant to be a jerk. I think he really was trying to be helpful. In his own way, he was trying to protect me."

"That is what I pay him to do."

"For how long?" Elena twirled the key ring around her finger. "I don't think he actually enjoys this line of work."

"It doesn't matter what he enjoys or doesn't enjoy," Damon said matter-of-factly. "My father owns him. He will do what the boss says or he will find himself on a plane back to where he comes from."

"Did someone own you?" Elena bravely asked.

"My family belonged to the mafia family in Italy for many years," Damon explained. "But my father decided to move here, so he brought our family here." Motioning around them, he said, "It worked out for the best. Our family have made more money here than we ever dreamed possible."

"Is it all legit?" she asked carefully.

Damon wasn't sure he was ready to divulge all the dirty details of his rise to this level of wealth. "Every penny in my bank accounts today is legit. It is all clean."

"But it was dirty once?"

"Some of it," he said. "It is complicated, but if you really want to know all the secrets I have, I can tell you about it some other time. It is not something I can do in ten minutes." Certain she was concerned about his well-being and safety and the security he could provide, he assured her, "I don't owe outrageous debts, Elena. This house will be mine in two years. I have a comfortable amount of money tucked away in various safe places."

"And what about all the favours you have called in to protect me? What kind of debts are you going to owe because of me?"

"You don't need to worry about any of that." Rising out of his chair, Damon came around to her side of the table and leaned down to kiss her. Gliding his hand over her braid, he said, "You are worth every penny, Elena."

The doorbell rang, interrupting their moment, and he left her in the kitchen to answer it. He found Enzo on the porch and welcomed him into the house. "Elena is finishing her breakfast. She is expecting company today. She will let you know what else she wants or needs to do. There will also be a delivery later this afternoon."

"What kind of delivery?" Enzo removed his damp jacket and placed it in the coat closet Damon pointed out to him.

"Spider is having Elena's house boxed up this morning. They are bringing the truck when they are done. Take the boxes upstairs to one of the extra bedrooms. Elena will let you know which boxes need to come into the master suite."

Enzo nodded. "Consider it done."

"She has the keys and access to my garage. I would prefer that you drive her around town in one of my vehicles."

"All right."

Damon flicked his fingers and Enzo followed him into the kitchen. He found Elena standing at the sink washing dishes by hand. It didn't surprise him that she was cleaning up after herself even though a housekeeper was on her way.

Picking up an envelope, he checked it to be sure it contained the proper amount and handed it to Enzo. "To cover her expenses and yours," he said quietly. "Whatever is left at the end of the week, you can keep."

Enzo nodded and slipped the envelope into the back pocket of his jeans. Rightly guessing that Damon wanted to be alone with Elena for a few minutes, Enzo left the kitchen.

Envelopes in hand, Damon came up behind Elena and embraced her. He kissed her temple. "I have to go."

Elena leaned into his kiss and reached for a dish towel to dry her hands. "What time will you be home?"

For the first time in his life, Damon had a reason to come straight home. The house wouldn't be empty. Elena would be right here waiting for him. "Seven or eight."

Turning in his arms, she put her hand on his chest. "I will make something for dinner."

"You don't have to cook. We can go out for dinner."

"Not like this," Elena gestured to her healing face. "I need a few more days and some strategic makeup buys before I can go out in public. I don't want people getting the wrong idea."

Damon didn't fancy the idea of people assuming he had been the one to hit her either.

"Do you need any errands run today? Anything specific you want done around the house?"

He realized what she was doing. "You don't have to earn your keep, Elena."

"I would feel better about taking money from you if I was actively doing something around here to help. Otherwise, I'm basically earning my salary on my back."

He didn't care for that comparison but he understood she felt strongly about the money issue. "Listen," he said, an idea forming, "why don't you sell me a piece of your company."

"What?" Elena seemed baffled by the offer. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I have seen your business plan."

"You saw my business plan?"

"At your house," Damon explained. "When I went to pack up some of your things. It is a solid plan. I have seen your work. You produce quality pieces. You have strong sales. What you need is a capital injection." He handed her the envelopes. "Consider this your first disbursement. Use it to cover your living and operating expenses."

Elena hesitantly took the envelopes from him. "We need a contract or something legal between us, Damon. Someday you are going to want to be repaid for your investment."

"We will talk about it tonight." He captured her mouth in a lingering kiss. "Thank you for breakfast." He kissed her again. "Try not to get Enzo in trouble today."

"Damon!" She smacked his chest with the envelopes, but he kissed away her annoyed retort.

He allowed himself a moment to simply appreciate how lovely she looked. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

Not wanting to leave her, he pivoted on his heel, picked up his jacket from the back of the chair where he had draped it and left the kitchen. Out in the garage, he slid behind the wheel of his SUV and cranked the engine. Rolling down the private driveway, he experienced the strangest sensation of dread and fear. It took him another block of driving before he figured out why.

 _I'm happy._

He was finally, truly happy—and it terrified him. After the intense stress of the last few days, after Elena had nearly been killed twice, Damon was painfully aware of how easily and quickly she could be taken away from him.

His first instinct was to clamp down and keep Elena isolated, but she would wither away and die like a flower starved of sunlight if he did that. She needed her freedom, and he wanted her to have it.

And if that meant he had to make deals with some of the city's worst devils? So be it.


	19. Chapter 19

"Holy. Crap." Bonnie exclaimed for probably the twentieth time as she followed Elena on a tour through Damon's house. "I mean, the house I grew up in was big but this place is crazy, stupid huge. What the hell does he do here all by himself?"

"I don't think he spends that much time here." Elena led her into Damon's office and shut the door after sharing a look with Enzo. It was going to take some time for their fledgling relationship to recover. Right now, Elena wanted privacy and she didn't want to have to worry about getting in the housekeeper's way as she worked.

"Really?" Bonnie walked around the perimeter of the room before plonking down in an overstuffed leather club chair. "Why do you think that?"

Elena shrugged and dropped into the chair across from her. "Think about the hours he puts in at work. Then add in the time he spends at the gym, restaurants, bars…"

"You would think he would just keep that penthouse," Bonnie remarked. "Less upkeep, lower monthly expenses and all that."

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Listen to you being all protective of your Italian sugar daddy!"

Elena rolled her eyes at Bonnie's teasing. "He is not my sugar daddy."

"Did he or did he not give you stacks of cash in envelopes this morning?"

"Well…"

"Exactly," Bonnie announced triumphantly.

"It is not like that and you know it," Elena insisted, feeling a bit hurt.

Bonnie must have realized that Elena wasn't keen on her teasing because she immediately stopped. "You know I don't mean it in a bad way, Elena. He is a good guy, and he obviously adores you. Hell, after seeing him in the motel the other night? I'm pretty sure Damon is like legit in love with you."

"Don't say that," Elena pleaded quietly.

"Why not?" Perplexed, Bonnie blinked at her. "Elena, the guy kicked in a door for you. He beat up all those men. He let Kai put a gun in his face for you. I thought he was going to cry when he thought you had been shot. He was panicked because he thought you were hurt." Bonnie sat forward in the chair. "He loves you."

"I want to believe that. Damon loving me is the one thing in the world I want, but if I'm wrong, it will gut me, Bonnie. His track record with relationships is terrible. Right now, I'm new and interesting, but in six months? Seven months? I don't know." Elena rubbed her face between her hands and tried not to cry as she imagined Damon walking away from her forever. "I need to be realistic. I don't want to be my mother, always chasing after men who will never love me."

"You are not your mother. You will never be your mother." Bonnie leaned forward and squeezed her hand. "Damon is showing you how much he loves you. You just need to trust what he has shown you and be brave enough to love him back. God, Elena," she said with a laugh, "what else does he have to do to prove what you mean to him? Actually get shot?"

"No!" Elena's stomach lurched and twisted painfully at the very idea of such a terrible thing.

"You worry too much. You are always waiting for that other shoe to drop. You need to live in the moment. We aren't guaranteed a tomorrow, Elena."

Elena placed her hand on top of Bonnie's. "I don't know what I would do without you. You always know what I need to hear."

"That is what best friends do." Leaning back in her chair, Bonnie mirrored Elena's cross-legged position. "Speaking of other shoes that are about to drop…"

Elena made a face. "What now?"

"A detective came to see me yesterday."

"And?" Elena held her breath as she waited to hear what Bonnie had to say.

"He was looking for you. I told him you were spending the weekend with your boyfriend. He seemed to be really curious about your relationship with Damon."

"Was it Alaric Saltzman? The detective, I mean."

"Yeah. I sensed that you two had some history. I was careful in what I said. I told him you two had been an item for a while and left it at that. Anything I should know?"

"Alaric was one of the cops who used to come to our house when the neighbours would call 9-1-1 on Mum. He works in some gang unit now. He has been in it for a few years. Remember when Katherine got busted in high school?" Bonnie nodded. "He was the cop who cut her a break and helped her get community service instead of juvie."

"It didn't help her much."

"I don't think Katherine was ever interested in being helped or saved. I think she is a true ride-or-die girlfriend. She will do anything for Mason."

"Even die for him?" Bonnie said what they were both thinking. "Because I have got to tell you, Elena, I have a feeling that Mason is wearing cement shoes and sitting on the bottom of the Gulf. We haven't seen or heard from Katherine since Saturday. That isn't good."

"I think Mason is dead too," Elena agreed sombrely. "But I don't think Katherine is." Elena touched her chest and tried to explain how she knew. "I think I would feel it if something had happened to her. Katherine must have escaped the motel and went underground. She is hiding out somewhere. I know it."

"If she is smart, she will stay hidden. People are going to start asking questions about Kai, and they are going to draw the obvious conclusions about her and Mason. If she pops up alive? It won't be good for any of us if people realize we are the ones who killed Kai."

"We didn't kill him!" Elena glanced at the closed door, suddenly paranoid that the housekeeper might be lurking nearby and hear their conversation. "He shot himself."

"Yeah, after you shoved the gun to his face and kicked him in the stomach and I hit him in the head with the same paperweight that you bashed him with a day earlier," Bonnie said.

"Well he shouldn't have tried to rape me or kill us," Elena argued. "It is not like we are psychopaths who go around beating people with crystal paperweights. And he shot himself in the face," Elena said forcefully. "I didn't pull that trigger. You didn't pull it. Damon didn't pull it. He killed himself." Shaking her head, Elena said, "I'm not putting that on us. He was a terrible person. I'm not going to sit around and cry and feel guilty about defending you and Damon or saving my own life."

"I'm not saying that we should feel guilty." Bonnie bit her lip. "I just keep playing it over and over in my head trying to figure out where it went wrong."

"It went wrong the second we decided to go after Katherine without help. We shouldn't have done that. It was dumb and dangerous—and now we have to pay for that mistake by keeping this secret for the rest of our lives."

"Do you think it will stay a secret?" Bonnie was obviously worried. "That motel fire was in the news, Elena. It was just a short piece in the Mystic Daily, but it mentioned an unidentified body. What happens when the cops figure out it was Kai?"

"I don't know," Elena admitted. "I really don't."

"We are so screwed," Bonnie said with dramatic resignation. "Like seriously screwed."

"Maybe not, Bonnie. I mean, we are talking about drug dealers and mobsters, you know? I'm pretty sure they have ways of making things like this go away. When was the last time you saw one of these guys hauled in on anything bigger than a gun charge or slinging dope?"

"I hope you are right because I was not made for prison."

Elea didn't point out that they probably wouldn't survive the first night in county lockup. Either one of the cholas down with the Hermanos would take them out with a plastic shiv or one of the guards owned by the gang would turn a blind eye to them being beaten to death before they made it to their arraignment. But Bonnie didn't need to hear that, and she didn't want to think about it.

"So, um, changing the subject," Bonnie said while reaching into the leather tote Elena had made her for Christmas last year, "I kind of did some research on Damon."

"What?" Her admission startled Elena. "What do you mean?"

"Look, you know I love you like a sister. I needed to be sure there wasn't anything super sketchy in his background."

Not wanting Bonnie digging around in Damon's criminal past, Elena said, "I already know about the sketchy things he did. I know he used to be part of the mob. His family is one of the members of the mafia family for many years."

"Obviously," Bonnie said. "It is kind of hard to hide his scars."

"So why go looking into his history?"

"His recent history," Bonnie clarified. "You know I keep up with the gossip and society pages. I like to keep an eye on familiar faces."

What Bonnie really meant was that she had some serious hang-ups about the wealthy folks who had turned their backs on her and her mother and shunned them after her father's crimes came to light. Not a single one of her mother's country club set had lifted a finger to help them out. Sometimes Elena wondered if Bonnie secretly had some crazy revenge plan in the works…

"So, I remembered Damon's face in some of the big galas and charity events around town," Bonnie said, "and I decided to have a look at his usual arm candy. It got me thinking that we really need to improve your game."

Elena frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Bonnie retrieved her laptop and motioned towards Damon's desk. "I will show you."

Reluctantly, Elena joined her at his desk. She sat in his chair, and Bonnie stood beside her, plunking down her laptop in front of Elena and typing in her password. She brought up a browser window with twenty different tabs.

One by one, Bonnie clicked on them and introduced Elena to her competition. Elena's heart sank as she got a good look at the incredible women Damon had paraded around town at society events. Judging by the number of photos from the society pages and local gossip blogs, he had a very full social calendar. The same woman would be on his arm for three or four events and then a new woman would appear. Elena's stomach ached as she imagined herself as just another in a long line of pretty faces.

And they were such pretty faces. Damon seemed to have a type, and it worried her that she didn't resemble any of them. They were all taller than her with knockout bodies and lush blonde or red hair. Their cocktail dresses and evening gowns put her shabby collection of thrift store finds to shame. She zeroed in on their evening clutches and shoes and jewellery. They were so beautifully put together.

Elegant.

Sophisticated.

Confident.

Sexy.

"Oh my God." Elena sighed as the worst feeling in the world swamped her. Glancing down at her old, oversized tee and faded black leggings, she wanted to cry. "How the hell do I compete with that?"

Next to Elena, Bonnie clicked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "Do you really think they look that good when they roll out of bed? Hell no! These women work their assets. We have just got to teach you to do the same thing."

"How?"

"I have already booked appointments for both of us at Beauty Special in Richmond," Bonnie said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "We are going tomorrow morning. The full package. Hair, nails, makeup, waxing—"

Elena squeezed her thighs together. "I am not going on a trip to Richmond."

"You are such a baby!"

"Look, I keep the landing strip tidy. My landscaping is neat." Feeling a bit smug, Elena added, "I didn't hear Damon complaining."

"Wait. What?" Bonnie slammed her laptop closed and whirled the desk chair so that they were eye to eye. "Did you—? Have you—? Oh. My. God. You did!" She hugged Elena so hard that Elena nearly came out of the chair. "Why didn't you tell me when I walked in the door? That is the kind of news you lead with, Elena."

"I wasn't going to talk about my sex life in front of Enzo and the housekeeper!"

"Well they are not in here now and I want all the juicy details. Like all of them." Bonnie hopped up onto Damon's desk. "What is he like in bed? He is pretty good, right? Like a Russian tiger?" She pawed at Elena. "Rawr!"

Elena tipped her head back and laughed. Blushing as she tried find the right words to explain her experiences with him, she finally said, "He is very…generous."

Now Bonnie looked really interested. "Tell me more!"

So Elena did. They sat there and whispered and laughed for the next hour. Bonnie offered a handful of tips that Elena filed away for later. For the first time in days, Elena felt totally relaxed and safe. It was like nothing horrible had ever happened to them.

"I'm going to miss seeing you at work." Bonnie pouted. "It won't be the same."

Elena had to roll her eyes at Bonnie's dramatic pout. "We text and Snapchat all day long. I'm sure we are going to see each other every day."

"I will have to ask your sugar daddy for gas money," Bonnie teased. "The drive to your new palace is going to burn through my gas budget."

Elena thumped Bonnie's leg. "He is not my sugar daddy!"

"Elena?" Enzo knocked on the door to the office. "You have a delivery."

"I bet it is something totally ostentatious," Bonnie guessed as she hopped off the desk. "Probably twenty dozen roses or a car."

Elena wouldn't put it passed Damon to do something like that. Bonnie followed her out of the office and down the hall toward the noise coming from the front door. When they rounded the corner, Elena nearly tripped over her feet as the boxes came into view. Moving boxes labelled in large red block letters were being carted into the house by men wearing the colours of Spider's M.C.

"Holy shit," Bonnie hissed. "Is that everything from inside your house?"

Dumbfounded, Elena nodded. "I think so."

"Why are these strangers packing up your house?" Bonnie seemed just as confused as her. "I figured we would do that when you were ready."

"So did I," Elena murmured in disbelief.

Damon had officially gone too far.

Elena didn't know what to say as she stood there and watched her entire life come into Damon's home in hastily tossed together boxes. The thought of strangers going through her personal things made her feel queasy. Worry gripped her. What about her supplies? Her tools? Her unfinished client orders?

Enzo approached her with cautious steps. "This wasn't my idea."

"I'm not upset with you," Elena assured him. "Did Damon tell you this was going to happen?"

Enzo nodded. "But I guess he forgot to tell you."

"Obviously," Elena muttered.

"Where do you want all these boxes to go?" Enzo gestured to the men waiting for instructions.

 _I want them to go back to my house,_ Elena thought.

But it was too late for that. The boxes were here, and judging by the crew that had delivered them, Spider didn't want her back in one of his properties. She cringed inwardly as she imagined the amount of trouble she had caused him. He tried to run a safe, clean park, and her sister and she had brought not only those skinheads onto his property but the police, too. He was probably in a rush to get rid of them.

With a resigned sigh, Elena glanced over the boxes and formed a plan. "Put the ones with my name on them in the hall outside the master suite. The ones labelled with leather or handbags or tools can go in Damon's office. All the others can go into the empty room at the end of the hall."

Enzo picked up a box and led a line of men upstairs. Bonnie stepped closer and gave her a supportive smile. "Well, this got awkward real fast."

"Sorry about that," a familiar female voice remarked.

Elena glanced back at the open front doors and noticed Marley coming into the house with a smaller box. She set it on the nearest stack. With an apologetic expression, she explained, "Dad called me this morning and asked me go over and box up your things. I didn't realize that you hadn't asked for help until we got here. I am so sorry, Elena."

"It is okay, Marley." As long as Elena had known Marley, she had never struck Elena as the nosy or intrusive type. Marley was uncommonly generous and kind and would have dropped everything to come to the house to help pack up her things if she thought she needed help. "We are fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I was really careful with your stuff," Marley promised. "I made sure I personally boxed up your private things and Katherine's. I also wrapped all of your handbags in tissue paper and put your tools in bubble wrap." She opened up the box she had been carrying to show Elena. "See?"

"Thank you," Elena said as she poked through the box containing her collection of second-hand leather punches and stamps. Marley had done exactly as described, and Elena was thankful for her care with her things.

"I wasn't sure what to do with all the furniture, the food in your refrigerator or the potted plants around the house."

"I will take care of them."

Marley hesitated. "Dad wanted me to tell you that he has new renters moving in next week so he needs the place cleared out as soon as possible."

Elena could tell Marley didn't want to be the messenger so she let her off the hook. "I understand. I i's just business."

"It sure as shit shouldn't be just business," Marley argued. "Not with you, Elena. You have lived down the street from me for nearly four years. You were a wonderful neighbour, and I don't want you to think that you did anything wrong. It is so hypocritical of Dad to want you and Katherine out of the park when he is…well…you know."

"I know." Elena had often wondered how Marley had turned out so normal when her family was even more dysfunctional than hers.

"Um, well," Marley glanced at the men coming back downstairs, "I will run the unpacking of the truck and make sure we are out of your hair as quickly as possible."

"There is no rush."

After Marley stepped outside to direct the men, Bonnie stepped up beside Elena. She glanced at her watch. "I'm sorry, Elena, but I have got to run. I have a marketing lecture and then I have got work."

Elena felt strange not to be thinking about work and the long night of cleaning, bending, lifting and sweating ahead of her.

"Listen, I will text you later, and we will figure out our plans for tomorrow, okay?" Bonnie air-kissed her cheeks. Lowering her voice, she added, "You better lay down the law with that lover boy of yours. He is hot as hell and the sweetest sugar daddy you will ever find—but he can't do shit like this," she gestured toward the boxes, "without telling you."

Bonnie was right. It was a conversation Elena didn't look forward to having with him, but it had to be done.

When Enzo and Elena were finally alone in the house an hour later, he shut and locked the door. Leaning back against it, he crossed his arms in front of his broad chest and asked, "What now?"

"Now?" Elena exhaled roughly. "Now we are going for a drive."

Enzo groaned but didn't try to stop her. Shoving off the door, he said, "Yes, ma'am."


	20. Chapter 20

Stretching his tight neck, Damon waited for the red light to turn green. In the passenger seats that surround him, his marketing manager argued with his general manager about Damon's expansion plans. They had spent the last two hours visiting a dealership in Mystic Falls that he wanted to buy. The owner was ready to retire and had no children interested in the family business. To Damon, it seemed like the ideal situation.

He didn't want to get pulled into the back-and-forth so he kept his focus on the wet streets. The rain was starting to pick up again. Spending the night at home with Elena was the perfect plan for weather like this. He planned to build a fire and open a bottle of wine to set the mood. He hadn't had a chance to properly seduce her yet. Tonight was that night.

When they reached his main dealership, Damon parked in his spot and asked his team members to pull together their thoughts in emails. He already had his mind set on buying the dealership, but he wanted to give himself a day or two to consider any differing points of view. He usually had good instincts, but he valued their opinions, even if he didn't care for the back-and-forth bickering.

Two steps into the dealership, he was pulled aside by his stand-in F&I manager who wanted him to sort out a salesman who had fucked up a deal by promising a rate and down payment that was way outside the customer's credit worthiness. Getting in between the supervisor and salesman reminded him exactly why he had a finance and insurance manager who usually handled these issues. But Donna was on maternity leave until after the New Year and somehow it fell on Damon to mediate the disagreement.

"Enough, Dale!" Damon said with some exasperation, cutting off the salesman who wanted to argue every single point that his supervisor brought up. "You messed up with this customer. Own it like a man."

The salesman nodded and curtly answered, "Yes, Mr Salvatore."

Exhaling roughly, Damon glanced at James. "Give the customer the promised rate and down payment. We will eat the difference."

Damon pinned the salesman in place. "I'm giving you a pass today. Pull this shit again? You will be joining the unemployment line."

"Yes, sir."

Damon motioned toward the door of the supervisor's office. "Go."

Alone with James, Damon asked, "Other than this, how is he? He came in with the new group we hired in August?"

James confirmed it with a nod. "Dale is a pretty good salesman. He is not top of the pack, but he is up there. I think maybe he is not suited for this lot. He would be better at one of our pre-owned lots."

"Call Tommy. Ask him if he can take Dale for a week or two. Make sure Dale knows we aren't punishing him." Damon could already hear the complaints. "Let him know that we are trying to find the most successful fit for him."

"I will take care of it."

Damon left James's office and crossed the main sales floor. He felt his pocket vibrate with a text message notification but didn't answer it. His attention had been pulled towards the all too familiar face walking through the double doors.

Never one to back down from confrontation, Damon strode towards Detective Saltzman and held out his hand. "Alaric."

"Damon." Alaric gripped his hand with a strong shake. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Of course." Wanting to control the situation, he gestured toward the second floor. "Come up to my office."

"Sure."

Damon led Alaric into his office and offered the detective a beverage that he declined. After closing the door, Damon took his seat and pushed aside a stack of paperwork that needed his signature. "I suppose you are here to talk about Elena."

Alaric got comfortable in his chair. "You don't want to hear what I have to say when it comes to you and Elena."

"Then keep it to yourself," Damon suggested.

Alaric cracked a smile. "There is the Damon I have known for ten years."

"Almost twelve," Damon corrected and settled back into his seat. "As I remember it, we never had problems, Alaric."

"We never had problems because you respected the rules."

"I still respect them." He steepled his fingers and stared at Alaric. "Do you?"

Alaric's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a dirty cop."

"I didn't say you were."

"I'm not here to play mind games with you, Damon." Alaric sat forward. "I know what your crew is like when it comes to protecting your women. You will keep Elena safe—but what about her sister?"

"What about her?"

"We know she checked into that motel that burned down on Saturday night. She used one of her well-known aliases to get the key. There was a body in the room."

Playing along and pretending he didn't know, Damon asked in a voice laced with concern, "Was it Katherine?"

Alaric shook his head. "It is a man. We don't have DNA back yet. The body was stripped and unrecognizable."

"Mason?"

"I doubt it. Mason was a big dude. This body was smaller and thinner." He paused. "I'm concerned it might be Kai Parker."

"Hell." Damon let the expletive loose for two reasons. One: to make Alaric think that he was just as shocked. Two: because if Alaric thought the body was Kai's so did everyone else on the street.

"If Katherine killed Kai…" Alaric didn't finish his thought. "I need to find her before they do."

"I don't know where she is and that is the truth. I'm not bullshitting you, Alaric." Damon made sure Alaric could read him. "Every second that Katherine is missing is a second that Elena is in danger."

"Do you know who Katherine was working for? With her little identity theft scam? She and Mason didn't have the money to do it on their own."

Damon shrugged. "It wasn't my family."

"I figured that out already. It wasn't the Asian syndicate or Nicky Jackson's boys either."

Wanting to give Marko a taste of some police harassment after that shit he pulled with Elena, Damon gave Alaric a little nudge in the wrong direction. "The newest face in town has been having some problems gaining territory and creating a market for his wares. He might be interested in growing a new side business."

"Marko." Alaric grumbled the name with distaste and rose from his chair. "I have said all I need to say. You know how to find me if Katherine makes contact with Elena."

"I do."

Alaric walked to the door but didn't open it. Looking back, he asked, "This thing you are doing with Elena? Is it real?"

"I'm not going to discuss my relationship with Elena."

"That is your prerogative, but I have known Elena a long time."

"And?"

"And I have known you a long time," Alaric shot back.

Damon understood what Alaric meant. He didn't like the guilty feeling that clawed at him. Alaric had every right to be concerned. He had earned his reputation as a man who burned through mistresses for a reason.

"It is not like that with Elena," Damon said finally. "It is different with her."

"It better be," Alaric warned.

Damon bristled at Alaric's tone but let it slide. The last thing he needed was to get into a pissing match with a detective who could make his life a living hell. Even more than that, he couldn't stand the thought that Elena would be disappointed in him if he got into a fight with Alaric. Instead, he stayed in his chair and watched Alaric leave.

Thinking of Elena, he decided to call her and see what she wanted to do about dinner. He pulled his phone from his pocket and noticed the text message he had ignored earlier. He swiped the screen of his phone and opened the message from Enzo.

 _Your little bird has flown back to the nest._

"Damn."

Damon quickly cleaned off his desk and left his office, locking the door behind him. It didn't take him long to figure out what had sent Elena running back home. Feeling like the worst asshole in the world for forgetting to tell her about the move he had arranged, Da,pm made sure the dealership was in good hands and hurried out to his SUV, texting Enzo as he walked.

 _Is my little bird still in her nest?_

He was backing out of his parking place when the reply came.

 _She is visiting a neighbour._

With his foot on the brake, he hastily tapped in his reply.

 _I will be there soon. Keep her there._

The sun began to set as Damon drove across the city. The rush of workers trying to get home slowed his progress and gave him plenty of time to think about his misstep. His first instinct was to do something special and give her an expensive gift to show how sorry he was, but as he pulled into the park and drove down her street, it occurred to him that Elena didn't want things from him. She would want him to apologize for being an asshole—and to mean it.

He parked in front of her mobile home and climbed out of the SUV, making sure to lock the doors behind him. He spotted his Maserati parked in her driveway. On habit, he checked the driver's door and found it unlocked. He had a feeling she had done that on purpose.

Damon climbed the rickety stairs to her small porch and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he tried the door, found it unlocked and stepped into the house. "Elena?"

There was no reply. She was probably still visiting that neighbour.

He glanced around the living room and noticed how much larger it seemed without the furniture. He walked the length of the house and discovered every room was empty. The refrigerator had been cleaned out, and he could smell the lemon and pine scents of disinfectants and cleansers. Knowing Elena as he did, he was certain she had spent the afternoon scrubbing every inch of this place.

Without a place to sit, he left the house to wait for her outside. When he reached the bottom step, he heard the squeaky whine of bicycle tires that badly needed a shot of WD-40. He watched a young boy with a too-big backpack ride down the street, dodging potholes and puddles until he reached the SUV. The little boy clambered off the bike and popped the kickstand. Hitching his backpack up higher, the chubby kid asked, "Are you Elena's friend?"

"Yes. Are you?" He leaned against the hood of his SUV.

"Yep." The kid wandered over to the Maserati. Eyes wide, he carefully touched the gleaming silver paint, running his hand over side panel. "Is this yours?"

"Yes." He reconsidered his reply and corrected himself. "It is actually Elena's now."

"Really?" The kid seemed sceptical.

"Really," Damon confirmed. Remembering how much he had loved cars at that age, he asked, "Would you like to sit behind the wheel?"

"Are you serious? Like for real?"

Damon gestured to the door. "It is unlocked."

The kid laughed and raced around to the driver's side. He jerked open the door, yanked off his backpack and climbed inside. Ignoring the urge to tell the kid to be careful with those muddy shoes, Damon walked around to the other side and sat on the passenger seat after moving the kid's backpack out of the way.

"I'm Hector," the boy said as he poked buttons and pretended to move the shifter.

"Damon."

"You are Elena's boyfriend, right? She was telling my mum about you." Hector narrowed his eyes as if trying to decide if Damon was worthy of Elena. "Mum thinks you are sketchy and controlling. She says Elena can have any man she wants and that Elena needs to remind you of that."

Damon snorted at that. "Your mother sounds like a very smart lady."

"She is." Hector pretended to drive the car while he chattered away. "She was glad that Elena wasn't dead."

"Why did she think Elena was dead?"

"Pelon said that Kai, Katherine and Elena were missing. Everyone thinks Kai killed Elena and Katherine and ran off to Mexico."

"Who is Pelon?"

"My sister's boyfriend," Hector said. "He used to be in a gang, but he got out when they shot his brother. He is a roughneck offshore now, but he is still down. He hears all the good stuff." Hector twisted in his seat "Hey, do you want to buy some wrapping paper?"

The swift change in subject amused Damon. He started to tell the kid no but changed his mind. "Maybe."

Hector reached for his backpack and dug around inside it until he found an ordering form and small catalogue. "We are raising money for school. If I sell enough paper, I get to take a limo to a pizza party with my friends."

Damon disliked the way the area schools pushed the kids to raise money like this. Every time he walked into the employee lounge at the dealership, someone was selling cookie dough or wrapping paper or some other bullshit. He hated the pressure to buy.

He flipped through the catalogue and glanced at the order sheet. Elena's name was the last one on the form. She had purchased three rolls of wrapping paper and a box of Christmas cards. The little smiley faces she had drawn inside each zero made him grin. She really was the sweetest thing. Maybe Hector's mother was right. Maybe he did need a swift kick in the ass as a reminder that Elena could have any man she wanted.

Damon did the math between what the kid had sold and what he needed to reach the grand prize level on the flyer. "I'm not interested in wrapping paper, but I will make a donation instead."

"Really?"

"Yes." He wrote down the amount he was pledging in the correct spot on the form and then reached into his jacket for his cheque book. The last cheque he had written had been earlier that morning when one of the employees from the trailer park had come to the dealership with the invoice for Elena's lease. As he scrawled on the check, he said, "If you don't win that limo ride, you call Elena and she will tell me. I will make sure you and your friends get your party."

There was a knock at the driver's side window. A moment later, Elena's face appeared. Damon tore free the cheque and handed it to Hector along with the form and catalogue.

"Thanks." Hector stuffed everything into his backpack. "For all of this."

"When you get ready to buy a car, come by the lot for a test drive."

The kid's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Sure."

Hector practically bounced as he got out of the car. A few seconds later, Elena slid into the seat he had just vacated. She closed the door and put her hands on the wheel. Damon waited for her to speak but it became clear that she wanted him to go first.

"I'm sorry, Elena." It occurred to him that this was the second time he had said it to her today. _You have got to be more careful with her,_ Damon reminded himself. He was painfully aware that Elena could have any man she wanted. Right now, she wanted him, and he needed to work to make sure that never changed.

"What are you sorry for exactly?" Elena turned in her seat so she could look at him. "Because I need to know if you actually get it, Damon, or if you are just saying you are sorry because you think that is what I want to hear."

"I should have told you about Spider having his daughter pack up your place. I should have told you—and not Enzo—that those boxes were coming today."

"You should have asked me if I wanted to move out of this house," Elena corrected. "I thought you asked me to move in with you as a temporary thing. This is a huge step, Damon. You should have made sure I was ready for it. You should have let me decide what to do with my home and my things."

"I thought I was being helpful." Damon tried to explain his reasoning. "I'm used to the women in my life enjoying the way I take charge. I thought you would be relieved to not have to deal with it after everything else that's happened in your life."

"You would think that," Elena said with a sad little smile playing on her lips. "And I get it, Damon. I get that you show people you care by doing things like this."

"I do care, Elena." He reached for her hand. "I care more about you than I have any other woman."

 _Just tell her that you love her!_ But he couldn't do it. He wasn't ready. _Coward._

"I believe you," she said softly. "I do like the way you want to take care of me and help me—but you have to talk to me, Damon. I don't like the feeling of losing control when it comes to big decisions like this."

"I will," he promised. "I'm not perfect, and I'm going to mess this up again—but I will try."

Still holding his hand, Elena glanced out the window into the darkening evening. "I needed to make the decision to move out of this place on my own, Damon. You sort of blindsided me with the penthouse and the mistress thing. I was still trying to wrap my head around that when you blindsided me with the move to your house. Then you shoved envelopes of money in my hand this morning. I'm just not sure where I stand anymore."

Leaning over, Damon touched her face and drew her gaze. "You stand next to me, Elena. That is where you belong."

"Is it? Because I'm not sure you want an equal partner who walks beside you. I think you want a woman who is happy to walk a few steps behind you. I think you want someone you can lead and someone who won't question your decisions.

Damon shifted uncomfortably. Her questions needled him. "I will be honest, Elena. I have always been the kind of man who likes to be in charge and in control of everything."

"I don't want to be controlled."

"I don't want to control you," he assured her. "But I would be a liar if I sat here and said that I don't want to be the man of our house. I am who I am, Elena. I can change, but essentially, this is me."

"I like the man you are." Elena squeezed his hand. With a lopsided smile, she said, "You just piss me off sometimes."

"I wish I could say I won't piss you off again, but I'm a flawed man."

"Your flaws aren't that bad." She touched his jaw. "You are a good man. You have been nothing but kind and generous towards me."

"But you wanted to leave this house and this neighbourhood on your own terms," Damon guessed. "And with your own money?"

Elena nodded. "It feels like I didn't earn it."

"That is bullshit," he swore roughly. "You are the hardest working woman I have ever met." Brushing his knuckles along her cheek, he said, "You don't have to be a martyr, Elena. It is okay to let someone—to let me—help you. It took me decades to get where I am. I want to spare you that."

Damon captured her mouth in a tender kiss. He swept his finger down her jaw. "If I walked away right now, you would still make a success of your life. You have already proven that you can stand on your own two feet. You don't need me. You don't need any man to get where you want to go." He leaned in and kissed her again. "But I hope you want me there with you. I hope you will let me help you reach your goals faster."

Elena cupped his face in her small hands. "I do want you with me."

"I just want to take care of you, Elena." He ran his thumb along her lower lip. "It makes me feel—"

"Proud? Like a good provider? Like a man?" she guessed.

Damon nodded. "It means something to me to be your man."

Elena leaned into him and pressed her warm lips to his. "It means something to me to be your girl."

Relieved she had accepted his apology, Damon kissed her until her lips were swollen and red. He flicked his tongue against hers one last time before reluctantly easing off their kiss. He swept the long strands of hair that had escaped her loose braid behind her ear. "Let's go home. I will build a fire and open a bottle of wine and then I will spend the rest of the night making this up to you. How does that sound?"

"Like the best apology ever."

"Let me give my keys to Enzo. He can drive my SUV back to the house. You can be my chauffeur for the ride home."

Outside in the chilly night, Damon found Enzo leaning against the door of the SUV waiting for them to finish. Sitting on the hood of the vehicle, a plate wrapped in aluminium foil rested on top of a thick blanket still sealed in its plastic packaging.

"Elena's friend decided I needed to be fed," Enzo explained. "The blanket is Elena's. That surrogate mother of hers said she won it at bingo. It has a tiger on it."

"Cobija," Damon said. "That is what they call these blankets. I used to have one," he admitted, eying the garish blanket with some envy. "One of the street soldiers thanked me with a cobija when I got his mother some cheap diabetes medicine." He touched the blanket and laughed. "That was the warmest thing. I lost it in a move and was so pissed off."

Enzo pushed the blanket towards him. "Well now you have a replacement."

Damon grabbed the blanket and tossed his keys to Enzo who caught them in his meaty fist. "Follow us home. You can leave as soon as we reach the house."

Enzo nodded and trudged around to the driver's side of the SUV. Damon returned to the Maserati and slid into the passenger seat. Elena had turned on the radio and had the heater on low to warm the interior of the car. She waited for him to fasten his seatbelt before putting the car into drive. She was easy on the gas as they left her old neighbourhood.

"Be brave, warrior princess," he scolded with a laugh. "Do you always drive like a little old lady on her way to church?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." She sent a warning glance his way. "And if you intend to backseat drive, I will pull over and you can hop in with Enzo."

Damon smiled. "Fair enough." He waited a moment before adding, "I just came down the town centre and the traffic is a mess. Take another route." When she shot him a look, he held up both hands. "That isn't backseat driving. It is navigating."

"Make yourself useful and navigate us to a restaurant with takeout," Elena suggested.

"I know a place you will like." Taking her hand, he lifted it and kissed the back of it. Holding it, he relaxed in his seat. Although he didn't want her to worry, he said, "Alaric came to see me today."

"And?"

"He thinks the body in the motel belongs to Kai. It is only a matter of time before it is confirmed." He hesitated. "He also told me that they know your sister was at the motel. She used one of her aliases for the room."

"So once they confirm it is his body, everyone is going to think she killed him."

"Yes. That is why Alaric came to see me. He wants to find Katherine first."

"Good luck," Elena replied hotly. "Nobody knows where she is. She hasn't tried to contact me since that night."

"If she does contact you, I will do what I can to get her out of the state. I can't promise anything more than that, but I will try."

"You don't need to put yourself in any more risk, Damon."

"She is your family. I wouldn't be much of a man if I let your sister get hurt when it is possible for me to protect her." Damon had been giving the issue with Katherine some thought. If something happened to Katherine and he could have prevented it, Elena would never forgive him. He didn't want that wedge driven between them.

Elena remained quiet as she drove, and he didn't push her by asking what she was thinking. When she was ready for his help or needed his opinion, she would ask. Until then, he was perfectly content to hold her hand…and wait.


	21. Chapter 21

Standing at the sink shaving the next morning, Damon kept hearing the click of a cell phone snapping photos. Wondering what the hell Elena was up to, he finished shaving, wiped his face with a warm towel, stepped away from the sink and peered into the bedroom. In the soft morning light, she reclined against a mound of pillows and seemed to be making silly faces at her phone. Amused, he asked, "Baby, what are you doing?"

"Snapchatting with Bonnie."

"I have no idea what that means." Damon didn't like admitting that. For the first time since the start of their relationship, he felt uncomfortably aware of their age gap.

"It is an app," Elena said before tossing her phone aside to give him her full attention. It was a small gesture, but he loved that she didn't constantly have her phone in her face. "It lets you message, send videos and snaps—photos—to friends. You can make stories, like a replay of your day, for your friends to view. The snaps disappear after they are viewed."

"What is the point of that? If you send me a picture, I want to keep it."

Elena smiled at him. "That is sweet."

"It is the truth."

"Well, maybe, some pictures shouldn't be kept," she said coyly, her gaze dropping to the comforter.

A flash of heat burned low in his stomach and arced through his chest. With a smouldering stare, Damon ordered, "Put that app on my phone right now."

With a giggle, Elena rolled onto her side and then crawled across the bed to the table where he kept his phone charger. As she moved, the shirt she had borrowed from his side of the closet rode up higher and revealed an enticing peek at her perfect little bottom. Getting dressed no longer interested him. He tossed the towel back onto the counter and crossed the bedroom with long strides.

Grasping Elena's ankles, Damon tugged her across the mattress. She squealed with laughter at his sneak attack. "Damon! What are you doing?"

Damon smacked her bare bottom and drew a shocked gasp from her throat. "Teaching you what happens when you tease me with this incredible bottom of yours."

When he bent down and nibbled the curve of her bottom, Elena cried out in shock. He dotted kisses atop each plump cheek and then licked a long, slow trail up her spine that ended in a noisy kiss on the side of her neck. She shivered and gasped, but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted Elena to go wild.

Grasping her hips, Damon canted her bottom up higher and cupped her from behind. He pushed between her shoulders to coax her into the right position. Face down. Ass up. "Perfect," he said, nipping at her backside. "Stay just like that."

Elena's toes curled, but she didn't move. Her ragged breaths and the slick heat seeping from her betrayed her excitement. He traced her labia with soft strokes before gliding a finger down the seam of her genitalia. He dipped a finger into her, gathering the moisture there, and then circled that wet finger around her sensitive clit.

Elena shuddered as Damon worked her with both hands. Thrusting. Rubbing. Pumping. Flicking. She pushed back against him, rocking on her knees, and moaned. He nipped at her fleshy bottom again, just a little tease of pain, and Elena cried out with ecstasy. She clenched around his fingers in a rhythm matching the waves of pleasure coursing through her incredible body.

Elena was still trembling and trying to catch her breath when she pushed up on both hands and spun around to attack him. Laughing, Damon fell back against a wall of pillows and wrapped his arms around her waist. As he hauled her on top of him, Elena smothered him with kisses. His stiff cock rubbed against her inner thigh and then nudged against her wet heat.

Hands on her hips, he guided her down onto the length of him. It felt so good to slide deep inside her. "I did all the hard work last night." He palmed her ass in both hands. "This morning, it is your turn."

With a hand on his chest for support, Elena shyly said, "I don't know what to do."

"Move." Thrusting up into her, he dragged a low moan from her throat. He gripped her waist and pushed her back before pulling her forward. "Like this."

Her first movements were uncertain and embarrassed. Wanting her to relax, Damon kissed her breasts and the side of her throat while caressing her back. He tangled his fingers in her hair and dragged her closer for a kiss. "You are so beautiful, Elena."

Seemingly reassured, Elena smiled back at him. Her uncertain movements grew more languid and relaxed. Eyes closed, she rocked back and forth on top of him. Content to watch and feel, he didn't try to rush or coach her.

It didn't take Elena long to find the rhythm and movements she liked best. Moving like a belly dancer, she sat up straighter. He was taken aback by how unbelievably sexy she looked in the pale morning light. Her long dark hair curled around her shoulders and back. Her breasts bounced, the nipples taut and begging for his touch. Her lips were curved with a heady smile.

Damon noticed the moment she found the right pace and friction. Her thighs squeezed his waist and her fingernails bit into his chest. Awed by her sensual beauty, he watched her come alive on top of him. Desperate need surged through him. Holding her waist, he held on tight as she rode him hard and fast.

Elena covered his hands with her own. She pinned him in place with her smoky gaze. In a husky voice, she begged, "Come with me, Damon. I want to feel you come inside me."

"Christ." Hearing her talk like that set him off like a firecracker. Helpless beneath her, Damon came hard while she rode him for all he was worth, taking her pleasure and giving him a taste of his own. Even after the last drop of cum had been milked from him, she rocked slowly back and forth until he shuddered and melted in a boneless heap of sated flesh.

Draping herself atop him, Elena exhaled a long, deep and very satisfied breath. With a smile in her voice, she whispered, "I think I like that position best."

Swearing, Damon wiped a hand down his face. "I think it is my new favourite too."

Elena giggled softly and touched his chest with her fingers. Quietly, she said, "We forgot again."

His stomach clenched with guilt. "I'm sorry."

"It is as much my fault as it is yours." Lifting her head, she said, "I will call my clinic when they open and see if they can squeeze me in today or tomorrow."

Damon nodded. "That is probably the best idea since it appears I can't be trusted to remember to wear protection with you."

He had his suspicions about that, but he wasn't about to voice them aloud. In the deep, dark recesses of his mind, he wondered if he wasn't deliberately forgetting to wear a condom. That vulnerable, weak part of him that feared she would one day wake up and want a better man understood that a baby would tie them together forever.

"Do you have a preference?"

Damon shot her a look. "Elena, I don't know the first thing about birth control."

"Well, I mean, some couples want bulletproof contraception like an IUD."

"No," he said too quickly. "Not that one."

"Why not? Bonnie has one, and she loves it."

"I had an experience I would rather not repeat with one." He still winced all these years later as he remembered the unexpected and painful pricking sensation of those strings jabbing the head of his cock. "I was afraid to have sex with Amanda for weeks after her IUD attacked me that night."

As if he had just tossed a bucket of cold water on her, Elena withdrew from him. Damon lifted his head to get a better look at her. "What?"

Perturbed, she asked, "Really, Damon?"

"Yes, really, Elena. What?"

"Maybe you could not talk about the other women you have slept with when you are still inside me?"

Damn. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Was he ever going to stop making mistakes like these? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Obviously upset and angry with him, Elena climbed off him and tried to escape the bed. Damon snatched her hand and prevented her from storming off. "Elena. Please."

She tugged hard. "Let go."

He did. "Running away isn't going to make this better."

"And staying here so you can regale me with stories of all the women you have slept with will?"

Sitting up, Damon insisted, "That is not fair, Elena. Telling a story about one of them isn't the same as listing all of them. You are the one who mentioned IUDs."

"Not so you could tell me about other women you have had sex with while we are still naked in bed together," Elena snapped back angrily.

"Why does it matter if I talk about those other women? You are the one I'm with right now." Damon cupped her face in both hands and ducked his head until he found her gaze. "Elena, I will apologize for being crass and rude just now, but I won't apologize for my past. You knew my history when you got involved with me."

Elena took a moment before saying, "It is different now."

"How?"

"Because now I know what it means to be with you," Elena explained, her gaze downcast and her cheeks warm with what he realized was embarrassment. "What we just did felt so special to me and then you started talking about this other woman…"

"And then you didn't feel very special anymore," he finished for her. "Elena," he said, his voice filled with regret. "Darling." He brushed his knuckles down her soft cheek. "You might not be the first woman I have shared all these kinds of experiences with—but you will be the last."

Her sad expression shifted right before his eyes. Her hopeful smile warmed his heart. Placing her hand atop his, Elena apologized quietly. "I'm sorry I flipped out just now."

"Don't." Damon kissed her. "You were right to call me out for hurting your feelings."

"Yes, but I shouldn't have reacted like a crazy, jealous girlfriend." Elena rubbed her face between her hands. "This is all so new to me. Maybe I'm not as emotionally prepared as I thought."

"Elena, we are having the most honest conversation I have ever had about a relationship." Brushing strands of hair behind her ear, Damon said, "I think you are more emotionally prepared than I am." Trying to put her at ease, he teased, "I'm glad I finally got to see you acting jealous. I was beginning to think you might not like me very much."

"Damon!"

He captured her hand and tugged her close for a deep, lingering kiss. She melted into him, and he sensed that all was forgiven. But not forgotten, he thought as he stroked her hair and enjoyed her sweet mouth. He had to remember to be more careful with her soft heart. Elena had such a kind, innocent soul, and she was so easily injured, especially after the way her mother had treated her as a little girl.

Holding her gaze, Damon murmured, "You are special to me, Elena." He dotted a line of kisses along her jaw. "Don't ever forget that."

"You are really special to me, too, Damon." Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, proving to him that her feelings were just as deep and real as his.

Not wanting to end the honest intimacy they shared, Damon remained in bed with her as long as possible. He would have to grab breakfast at the dealership, but he didn't mind. Elena's tender feelings were more important than anything else this morning.

"Put that app on my phone while I'm getting dressed." Damon touched the fingerprint scanner before handing it over to her. "I expect at least three dirty snapshots of you today."

"Only if I get three from you," Elena replied with a saucy smile.

"Challenge accepted."

Laughing, Elena leaned back against her pillow and tapped away at his phone. Damon returned to the bathroom and put on his usual suit. While he picked out a tie, he decided it was time to get rid of the penthouse. He needed to show Elena he was cutting ties with his past and starting a new life with her.

He stood in the doorway of the bathroom and slipped into his jacket. "Are you still planning to meet up with Bonnie today?"

"We are going to the salon."

"Pick up the tab for her. My treat," he added. "If you need extra cash—"

"Damon, you gave me plenty yesterday. I'm fine."

Damon could tell the money issue was still a touchy subject with her. It was probably going to take a few months before she was comfortable with their new arrangement. He decided not to push it today.

She slipped back into the T-shirt she had slept in and beckoned him to sit next to her. "Let me show you how this works."

Sliding his arm around her waist, Damon watched her demonstrate the app. "It seems easy enough."

"It only gets dangerous if you have too many contacts and accidentally send a snap to the wrong people."

"Then I guess it is a good thing you're my only contact."

"Probably," she agreed. Lifting her phone high in the air, she cuddled up against him and snapped a quick photo of them. She checked her screen and smiled. "Oh! This is a good one."

"Let me guess? That is going to Bonnie?"

Elena shook her head. "Nope. This one is just for me."

Damon combed his fingers through her long hair. He wanted to ask her not to cut it because he loved it long like this, but he didn't. "Please relax and enjoy yourself today, Elena. You need this."

"I will."

"Stay close to Enzo."

"I will stick to him like white on rice," she promised.

He kissed her temple and pocketed his phone. "I will see you tonight."

Halfway downstairs, the doorbell rang. Damon switched of the alarm and let Enzo inside. "Elena will be down later."

Enzo followed him into the kitchen. "The boss wanted me to give you this."

Damon stared at the folded slip of paper Enzo held and doubted he was going to like whatever this message was. He opened it and scanned the message inside.

 _The Grill. 7 p.m. Make it right._

Scowling, Damon suspected that Giuseppe's instruction to make it right was going to come at some expense. Walking over to the stove, he lit the message on fire and dropped it into the sink to burn. "Who am I meeting?"

"The boss didn't think I needed to know that detail, but—"

"But?" He glanced back at Enzo.

"But the boss says if you do this favour for the family, the family will do a favour for you. The family will make sure that Elena is safe while you go out of town for your birthday."

With everything else happening, Damon had been on the verge of cancelling his plane ticket and hotel reservations. Now that he knew Elena would be under the mafia family's personal protection he felt better about taking his annual Vegas getaway to gamble and watch the fights.

Plucking a K-Cup from the cabinet, Damon asked, "Will you be part of the crew shadowing Elena while I'm out of town?"

"Yes. Also Danny and Wes."

All three men were capable. She would be perfectly safe with three of the family's most trusted men watching her.

Damon tossed a couple of ice cubes into his travel mug. "I will talk to Elena about it tonight. My flight leaves at noon tomorrow." After pushing the lid on tight, he said, "The salon she is visiting is under Giuseppe's protection. Sarah, Lexi and all the other wives use it regularly and one of Nicky Jackson's nieces works there so it is neutral territory and on the safe list. You can give Elena some room today."

"Not a problem," Enzo assured him.

Coffee in hand, Damon left the house. He made it to the first stop sign before his cell phone chirped with an alert. Foot on the brake, he checked his phone. It was a message from Elena. Already grinning with anticipation, he opened it. A streak of heat burned white-hot through his stomach when he saw the snap she had sent him. The few seconds he was allowed to see the photo weren't nearly enough.

Dropping his phone back in the cup holder, he continued on his morning drive. By the time he reached the dealership, he had made up his mind. It was time to say goodbye to the penthouse.

Scrolling through his list of contacts, he found Marissa's new number and dialled it. They had parted on good terms, and he was happy to send some new realty business her way.

"Damon!" She answered in that trademark husky voice. "I was just thinking about you!"

He doubted that very much, but he wasn't about to be rude. "Oh?"

"Well I was just about to put my suitcases in the car for my Vegas getaway," she explained. "Vegas. November. You. My mind tied it all together." There was no mistaking the smile in her voice as she asked, "Dare I hope you are calling about your birthday plans this weekend?"

Damon had never taken a woman on his birthday trip, and he sure as hell wasn't going to start with a former mistress. He tried to let her down gently. "I'm calling about a business proposition, not pleasure."

Never one to back down easily, she replied, "Well, maybe if I'm a very lucky girl, we can make it a little bit of both."

Damon didn't want to hurt her feelings so he changed the subject. "Do you have time for a meeting this afternoon? I would like to discuss the penthouse."

"Oh," she said, her voice filled with interest. "I think I can make that happen. How about four?"

"That works for me."

"I will see you then. Bye-bye."

Damon pocketed his phone and stepped out of his SUV. With any luck, he would have the penthouse on the market in a few days and a sale before Thanksgiving. As he walked into the dealership, an idea for what he would do with the profit from the sale began to form. It would be a grand romantic gesture, maybe even a bit too over the top, but if any woman deserved a gift like that it was Elena. He was going to make damn sure she got it.


	22. Chapter 22

"This place is crazy nice," Elena whispered to Bonnie while clutching her mimosa. They were seated in the super luxurious waiting area of the saloon and had already been treated to insanely delicious gourmet chocolate along with the champagne cocktail.

"It should be for the prices they charge," Bonnie whispered back. "Good thing your sugar daddy is footing this bill," she added with a wicked smile and a bit too loudly.

Feeling the stares of the other women waiting with them, Elena pinched her arm. "Bonnie!"

"Sorry," she apologized quickly. She looked embarrassed as she insisted, "You know I was just teasing."

"I do." Elena glanced at the elegantly dressed blonde sitting across from them. Her perfectly painted lips were pulled into a taut thin line. Her jewellery glinted under the artfully placed lights. Elena couldn't help but stare at her handbag. Black Clemence leather. Gold hardware. The iconic shape and structure of the Birkin bag called to her, but it was a dream she would never attain. Even on the second-hand market, a pre-owned Birkin in good shape demanded a twenty-thousand-dollar price tag.

The elegant blonde caught Elena staring at her handbag and shot her a cold look. After Bonnie's teasing outburst, she could only imagine what the blonde thought of her. Money-grubber came to mind. Even worse words circled around in her head. Sugar baby was the nicest of them—and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Another woman in the lobby sized her up in the same way. There was something familiar about her, but Elena couldn't quite place her. She had beautiful red hair and striking blue eyes and classic fashion sense. She had chosen a Chanel handbag and Jimmy Choos to complement her dove grey dress.

Suddenly self-conscious, Elena touched her neck and prayed the fading bruises she had painstakingly covered with fine layers of concealer and foundation were still hidden. She had chosen one of her nicer outfits from her meagre closet, but it hardly compared. She glanced at Bonnie who thumbed through a fashion magazine and sipped her mimosa. Bonnie seemed to fit so easily in this world, even after spending the last seven years watching it from the outside.

 _But me? Oh, I didn't belong here. Not at all,_ Elena thought.

"Elena?" A stylist with knockout curves approached Elena with an inviting smile. The bold coral jewellery she wore accented the black dress that hugged her thick hourglass figure.

"Hi." Elena stood up and shook her hand.

"I'm Nisha. I will be your stylist today." She waved at Bonnie. "Hey, hon! Julie will be out in a few minutes. She is just tidying up her station."

"I'm in no rush." Bonnie sat back with a smile. "Take good care of my friend. She doesn't indulge in beauty days very often."

"Well we will have to change that, won't we?" Nisha linked her arm through Elena's. "Come on over to the consult area, sugar. Would you like another mimosa or maybe a bottle of water or some tea?"

"I'm fine, but thank you."

"All right." She led Elena to a chair and sat down across from her. "So, what would you like to today?"

"I think a trim," Elena said, touching the ends of her hair. "Maybe some colour?"

"Do you colour your hair often?"

Elena shook her head. "I haven't done it in almost two years."

"May I?" The stylist asked for permission to touch her hair.

"Sure."

She stood behind Elena and examined her strands. "You have such gorgeous hair. It is very healthy. When you say you want some colour, do you mean something very different or some subtle changes?"

"Subtle."

"Are you familiar with balayage?"

"Yes."

"So let me grab some colour books and we will talk shades, okay?"

They settled on soft caramel and toffee to complement Elena's natural dark colour. She combed her fingers through Elena's hair as they discussed the upkeep and the haircut she wanted. It was clear from her consultation that she cared about her needs and satisfaction and wasn't going to push a style or colour on me that wasn't right for her lifestyle. Feeling like she was in good hands, Elena finally relaxed.

After slipping into a smock, Elena took a seat at the colour bar. The redhead from the lobby sat in the chair at the other end of the curved bar, and Bonnie popped into the chair next to me. Grinning, she said, "By the time we leave here today, I want my hair so ice white I look like a Targaryen."

"Are you serious?"

"No, of course not," Bonnie laughed. "I will look terrible with white hair because of my dark skin."

Elena snickered at her Game of Thrones reference. Bonnie had been a lover of the books for years and had dragged her into the show practically kicking and screaming. Two episodes into the first season, Elena had been hooked. Ever since then, they had been sharing the cost of an HBO subscription and stalking fan sites for the latest updates and spoilers. "We will have to find you a Khal Drogo if you do that."

"Or maybe my Khal Drogo has already found me," she muttered.

"Wait. What?" Elena turned in her chair and leaned towards her. "What does that mean?"

"It just means that it is complicated." Bonnie shot her a meaningful look. "Really complicated."

Sitting back in her chair, Elena had a flash of that night in the motel and the guy from Logan's crew who had been so gentle with Bonnie. What was his name? James? Jim? Jet!

Elena wanted to ask Bonnie if she was right, but this very public place was not appropriate for that conversation. She didn't know how a relationship like that could work. Jet worked for the man who had basically ruined Bonnie's life. Dealing with Damon's history and his ties to a criminal enterprise were hard enough, but at least he was out of that life. Jet was still knee-deep in the mafia business. His loyalties to his boss—to Logan—would always trump his loyalty to a girlfriend.

A platinum blonde built like a pixie stopped by the colour bar to offer refreshments. Bonnie insisted that Elena had another mimosa. With a designated driver waiting outside, she didn't put up too much of a protest. Soon, she happily sipped away at another glass while Nisha sectioned her hair and began applying colour.

Conversations swirled around her. For the first time in days, Elena felt the tension and stress that had been knotting up her neck and shoulders start to release. The champagne had a lot to do with it. Escaping from reality in this bubble of luxury and beauty helped.

But Elena couldn't shake the guilt that pricked at her conscience as she enjoyed an afternoon of pampering. Her sister was out there somewhere, alone and afraid, while she sat here drinking champagne and gossiping. It wasn't right. While she understood that helping Katherine was next to impossible now, a part of her wondered why the hell she wasn't crawling the streets of the city looking for her sister.

A shameful, horrible part of her knew why she hadn't fought against Damon's decision to keep her safely tucked away at his house. Honestly? She was punishing her sister.

It was an ugly thing to admit—but there it was. For so many months, the resentment and anger inside her had been building to levels that had threatened to choke her some days. Elena had grown tired of supporting them both financially, of cleaning up after her sister and of worrying night after night that she was going to be hurt or arrested when she was out with Mason.

Katherine's bad decisions had nearly gotten her raped and killed. They had put her best friend and the man she had fallen hopelessly and irrevocably in love with in danger. Elena was just so sick and tired of it all.

"You okay?" Bonnie touched Elena's foot with hers. "You look like you are in La-La Land."

"Just thinking," Elena said with a little smile.

"About?"

"Things," Elena said, deliberately evasive.

Bonnie let it go and returned her attention to her magazine. Elena leaned forward and reached into her purse to retrieve a small notebook she kept there and a pencil. While her colour processed, she sketched out an idea she had for a gift she wanted to make Damon. That wallet of his needed replacing.

As Elena drew lines on the paper, she overheard the redhead talking to her stylist about her weekend plans. They sure sounded more interesting than hers. She was headed to Vegas this evening and apparently had plans to meet up with an old flame. Elena couldn't imagine what man would have let a knockout like that walk out of his life. She seemed nice and funny and obviously had her act together considering the way she talked about her back-to-back appointments with her realty clients.

Bonnie tapped her foot when the redhead left the colour bar. "What do you think?"

"About?"

"You. Me. Vegas."

It was an interesting thought. "I'm listening."

"I would be willing to work some overtime for a girls-only getaway." Bonnie smiled slyly. "You would have to ask that Italian honey of yours for an advance on your allowance."

"Keep that up and I will go to Vegas alone with my Italian honey."

Bonnie pouted dramatically as Nisha returned. She checked Elena's foils and said, "Looks good. Let's get you to the sink for a rinse and some toner."

Elena trailed Nisha to the wall of sinks along the far right side of the salon. The chair she directed her to was surprisingly comfortable. Eyes closed, she enjoyed the sensation of a warm shampoo and strong fingers massaging her scalp. After a good rinse, she applied the toner and left Elena to process for a few more minutes. She listened to the conversations around her and picked up on the redhead's voice again.

"He called me this morning—out of the blue—and told me he wanted to get together to talk about a piece of property in his portfolio. We are meeting at his place in a few hours."

"Uh-huh," her stylist said with a laugh. "Sounds to me like he is looking for a reason to get you alone again."

"Maybe."

"Are you interested in rekindling things with him?"

"I don't know," the redhead replied quietly. "We had a good thing when we were together, but he is not a long-term commitment type. He knows how to make a woman feel good. I mean, that man did things to my body that still make me blush and ache!"

The stylist laughed. "Oh, I remember those stories quite well."

"I'm ready to settle down, but I'm perfectly happy enjoying his company and no-strings attached sex until a better offer comes my way."

"All right, hon," Nisha said as she approached Elena from the side. "Let's get you rinsed."

A few minutes later, Elena sat in front of a mirror while Nisha combed out her freshly coloured hair. They chatted while she snipped and texturized. It turned out that they had both lived in the same neighbourhoods at different times. She had a feeling they had more in common than just crappy apartments and ramshackle houses.

As she gave Elena the best blowout of her life, she noticed Nisha staring at the barely visible marks on her neck. The bruise on her cheek had been easier to hide and camouflage than the ones of her neck. It didn't help that Damon had made a habit of marking me with love bites. It was obvious by the taut line of her mouth what she thought. Elena hoped she wouldn't say anything, but she wasn't getting off that easy today.

"Listen," Nisha said as she walked Elena to the spa area of the salon for her remaining appointments, "I'm going to get in your business for a second. Please understand that I'm only doing it because I have been there."

They stopped in a quiet, private alcove, and Elena quickly said, "It is not what you think."

"Oh, honey," she said with a sad smile, "it is exactly what I think. Believe me. I know the signs all too well. I spent most of my teenage years and my early twenties hiding bruises from my boyfriend-turned-husband. You do not have to stay with a man who hits you. I can help you. I know people who specialize in this kind of thing."

"They are not from my partner," Elena said calmly. "But thank you for offering to help me. That is very kind of you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Those bruises came from a man. I know the span of a man's fingertips when I see them."

"You are right. They are." Carefully, Elena explained, "My sister got into some trouble with some very dangerous people. I became collateral damage."

Her tense expression relaxed. "I know about that, too," she said sadly. "My ex-husband used to run drugs and guns with Kai Parker. He screwed up a deal and I'm the one who paid for it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." After her run-ins with Kai, Elena could only imagine what horrible things he had done to Nisha. "I know what he can be like."

A look of understanding passed between them.

"If you need some help, I know some people who can take care of that for you."

"It has been handled," Elena assured her.

"If you need protection, it can be bought. My uncle is Nicky Jackson. I can tell by the look on your face that you know what that means."

"I don't need to buy it. Damon already has."

"Damon?" Her eyebrows arched with surprise. "Wait. Do you mean Damon Salvatore? The Italian with all the dealerships and trucking companies?"

"Yes."

Nisha glanced back at the salon. "Your relationship is kind of new?"

"Yes. Why?" Nisha bit her lower lip. Elena sensed she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if it was her place. Wondering what she knew, Elena asked, "What is it that you think I need to know?"

"I think—"—she looped her arm through Elena's and patted her hand in a motherly gesture—"—that you need to be very careful with your heart, sugar. You need a plan. You need to know how to get in and how to get out of a relationship with a man like that. Take advantage of whatever perks he offers you—jewellery, cars, money. You hoard it. Put it away some place safe. Someday, you will need it to start the next chapter of your life. Enjoy him while you have him, but keep one foot out the door. You will be glad you were prepared when the Cinderella story comes to an end, sweetheart."

Dazed by her advice, Elena didn't know what to say as she handed her off to the aesthetician. She managed a smile for Nisha but inside she was a mess. Nisha didn't strike her as the type of woman to give advice like that just to be cruel. So what did Nisha know about Damon that she didn't?

As she endured the uncomfortable sting of having her eyebrows tidied up, she felt the worst churning in her stomach. How many of Damon's girlfriends had come to this salon? Was she going to be the newest bit of gossip among the stylists? Would she become known as Damon's hot new thing?

 _Stop,_ Elena thought insistently. _Just stop._

There was no doubt in her mind that Damon cared deeply for her. Their relationship was different than all the others. Wasn't it?

"Why don't you take a look in the mirror?" Emily suggested after she finished plucking a few strays. "You have a very nice natural brow shape so I just cleaned them up for you."

Shaken from her troubled thoughts, Elena hopped off the table and walked over to the full-length mirror attached to the adjacent wall. She checked out her work and smiled. "They look great."

"I'm glad you like them. Would like to add on any other waxing services?"

"Not today." The last thing Elena wanted was some stranger she hardly knew getting up close and personal with her lady parts.

"Would you like me to make a note about a return appointment? I usually see my eyebrow clients on a three to four-week schedule."

Elena considered her normal plucking routine. "We should probably aim for three weeks."

"Okay. I will make a note, and Billie or one of the other front desk girls will get you scheduled." She gestured to the door. "If you will follow me, I will take you to your manicure and pedicure appointment."

The quiet, relaxing hallway lined with rooms used by aestheticians and massage therapists led to a bright and open space where clients were pampered used by the nail technicians. Large potted palms filled the corners of the room and gauzy drapes gave the wall of pedicure chairs a luxury cabana feel.

Unlike the usual black pedicure chairs Elena was used to at the nail salons she had always visited, the chairs here were a creamy leather and had adjustable tabletops and shelves along each side for holding purses and shoes. Instead of black plastic foot baths, these chairs were attached to mosaic-tiled basins with gleaming faucets.

Emily led her to the kaleidoscope shelves lined with nail polish bottles and then wished her a good day before grabbing her next client from the spa waiting area. There were so many colours Elena wasn't sure where to start.

"Try a plum shade," a woman suggested from behind Elena. "It is a hot colour for the fall."

Turning towards the sound of her voice, Elena discovered a dark-haired woman close to her age seated in a pedicure chair soaking her feet. She had one hand resting on a very prominent baby bump while the other held a home décor magazine. Diamonds glinted on her hands and ears as she added, "You should try the shellac." She flashed her paint-stained fingertips at Elena. "It is good for girls like us who work with our hands."

Bewildered, Elena asked, "How do you know I work with my hands?"

Her mouth slanted with amusement. "We haven't met, but we actually run in some of the same circles and have some of the same friends in common."

"Oh?"

"Hadley, Bonnie, Damon," she ticked off two names. "And, of course, my uncle, Giuseppe…" She held Elena's gaze, and it was clear in that moment that she knew everything. "He speaks very highly of you."

Of course. Elena recognized her finally. Black hair. Blue eyes. Sarah Salvatore.

She was right. They did have friends in common. Bonnie and Hadley had known each other when they were younger. Hadley had become one of her loyal customers, buying four or five of Bonnie's designs every year. She also carried one of Elena's tote bags and a hobo-style handbag. A few times, she had asked Elena to visit her art centre to teach leather working classes.

With a gentle smile, Sarah touched the seat next to her. "Pick out your colour and come sit next to me."

Like her uncle, Sarah was not the kind of person she could refuse. "All right."

Taking her advice, Elena chose a deep plum shade with a hint of sparkle. Mandy, the nail technician assigned to her, seemed to approve the choice. She guided her to the chair next to Sarah. She offered her another mimosa but Elena turned it down in favour of a cup of tea.

"That is a beautiful bag. Is that one of your designs?" Sarah gestured to Elena's handbag sitting on the shelf of the chair.

"Yes."

"I have actually been looking for something similar to that for a diaper bag. I want a leather tote but with more structure, you know? And with pockets and compartments."

"I made a bag similar to that a few months ago." Elena reached into her purse for her phone and started scrolling through the photos in her Dropbox app. When she found the right one, she showed it to Sarah. "Something like this?"

"Yes!" Sarah scrolled between the photos. "Exactly like this! But maybe in a brown leather? I'm not really a fan of black."

"All of my handbags are made-to-order. I can do any colour you like."

"Do you have a shop?"

"I work out of my house right now. Well," Elena corrected herself, "I'm working out of Damon's house at the moment."

"Oh! Well that works nicely. We live a few blocks away. I can pop over sometime if that is okay."

"It is definitely okay."

Sarah sipped from a water bottle and shifted in her chair. She swirled her feet through the hot water. "I work from home now. It is nice. I like being able to just walk downstairs and go to work, especially lately when I'm up all night with heartburn and insomnia."

As she rubbed her pregnant stomach, Elena was struck by the realization that they weren't that far apart in age. Seeing Sarah so obviously happy about starting a family left her feeling conflicted and maybe even a bit envious. Damon and her had been playing a dangerous game together, forgetting to use protection more often than not. Even though her usual cravings for salt and the discomfort of sore breasts seemed to confirm her period's impending visit, there was always the slimmest possibility that she was wrong. It didn't scare her nearly as much as it should have.

"Where is your shadow?"

"My shadow?"

Sarah smiled as if they shared a secret. "Enzo."

"Oh. Right. He is at the coffee shop next door. I assume your shadow is nearby, too?"

"Shadows," Sarah corrected. "Two for me." She touched her stomach. "Two for him."

"I guess I should stop complaining about Enzo. At least there is only one of him following me everywhere."

"Oh, it's not so bad. Krisha is just part of this life."

"Krisha?"

"Roof," she explained. "It is what they call the protection arrangements we have. Like a roof protects the house, you see?"

"Oh."

"You will get used to it. My four shadows are like family now. Ten is really just a big teddy bear once you get to know him. Wes is a sweetheart. Ilya always has the best gossip and stories. Danny sneaks me pan dulce from Benny's bakery once or twice a week. Honestly? It is like having four seriously overprotective brothers. I was an only child and I always wanted brothers. It is like wish fulfillment twenty years later," Sarah laughed.

Closing her eyes, Elena leaned back against the cushioned seat and enjoyed the hot water bubbling around her feet. "One older sister has been enough trouble for me."

"It will be all right," Sarah said softly. "Damon won't let anything happen to you, and I can promise you that my uncle won't either."

Elena glanced at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. "I hope so."

Sarah reached over and touched Elena's hand. "I know so."

Elena's cell phone buzzed, and she fished it out of her purse. The snap from Bonnie made her giggle. Bonnie had taken a selfie with an exaggerated expression of pain as she waited in one of the aesthetician rooms for her waxing appointment. Elena snapped a quick photo of herself relaxing with a content smile and sent it her way.

"Are you Snapchatting with Damon?" Sarah had her phone in her hand and seemed to be texting someone. "I have been trying to convince my uncle to let me add the app to his phone for us to use, but he is all security this and NSA that so…" Sarah rolled her eyes. "I tried telling him that the NSA doesn't care about our selfies but…"

"This one is from Bonnie. She is in the back about to get up close and personal with some hot wax."

"Ouch!"

"I showed Damon how to use Snapchat this morning." Amused, Elena admitted, "He sent me a snap of his blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee. I think it is going to take him a while to figure it out."

Sarah laughed. "Start sending racy snaps. He will figure it out quick enough." Holding out her phone, she said, "Give me your number. We are neighbours now. We should get together for lunch or something."

"I would like that." They exchanged phones and typed in their contact information. As Elena handed back her phone and took hers, Bonnie strolled out of the spa, grabbed a funky sea blue shade of polish and hopped into the seat next to her. She leaned forward to wave at Sarah and soon they were chatting back and forth.

Elena's pedicure and manicure finished before Bonnie's so she settled their bills and tips and waited for her in the lobby. She snapped a selfie of my new haircut and colour and sent it to Damon. He responded seconds later with a phone call.

"Hello?" Elena answered quietly so as not to disturb any of the other patrons.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Feeling giddy at the sound of his deep, dark voice, she couldn't help but smile.

"I would like to take you out and show you off, but I have a meeting soon and then promised to do a favour for a friend tonight."

He didn't have to tell her who that friend was or why he had to do him a favour. Elena had a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that the mafia family would expect many such favours from Damon for the protection the family had extended towards her.

"But I will make it up to you when I get home," Damon promised. "I have to go. I will call you when I'm headed home tonight. Stay close to Eno. All right?"

"I will." They ended their call with softly spoken goodbyes just as Bonnie appeared in the lobby. They left the salon together and came face to face with two men in black leather jackets. The younger of the two men looked very familiar to Elena. He nodded towards her in acknowledgment. "Ma'am."

Elena suddenly remembered where she had seen him. He had come to her rescue with Damon. "Mr Wes."

His companion laughed and said something to him close to his ears that made Wes' ears turn red. Elena sensed it was good-natured ribbing between two men who seemed close as brothers and left it at that. Bonnie and she continued towards the coffee shop.

"What was that about?" Bonnie asked.

"Those are Sarah's guards. One of them—Wes—came to help me the other night."

They exchanged a look, and Elena could tell that she didn't need to tell Bonnie the rest of it. They entered the coffee shop and found Enzo sitting at a table with two men that she assumed were Sarah's other guards. The bearded one shocked her with his size. Standing at full height, he was probably seven feet tall and all tattooed muscle. With a bear like that at Sarah's side, she was the safest woman in all of Mystic Falls.

They ordered drinks and then left with Enzo. Bonnie had an extra shift to get to so they dropped her off at her apartment. Before Bonnie got out of the car, she poked Elena's shoulder. "We are still on for my birthday tomorrow, right?"

"Of course." Her life might in the worst state of flux right now, but she wasn't going to abandon her best friend on her birthday. If they didn't go out as they normally did, it might arouse suspicions. They needed to keep to their normal routines.

"Whatever you two are planning, it needs to be cleared with Damon," Enzo warned. "And I will have to go with you."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Comrade, if you want to get dressed up, eat cupcakes and go dancing with us, you just have to ask." Enzo scowled at Bonnie who laughed and clambered out of the car. "I will call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye!"

"Comrade? She does realize that I'm not a communist?"

"She was teasing," Elena said and put a hand on his arm. "She only said it because she knew it would bother you."

Enzo grumbled under his breath and put the car in drive. "I need to make a stop on the way home."

"That is fine. I'm not in any rush. Where are we going?"

"I have to settle a debt."

"A debt?"

"That afternoon you and your friend ran away I promised the security guard a payment if he would let me access the tapes. It took me a few days to scrape it all together."

"Enzo!" Guilt clawed at Elena. "Let me pay it. You shouldn't have to spend your own money on my mistakes."

"It wasn't money he wanted."

"What did he want?" Enzo refused to meet her gaze or answer so she asked again, "Enzo? What did he want?"

"It is not important, Elena. The less you know? The better."

More and more, those six words seemed to rule her life. As Enzo navigated busy streets, Elena thought of Sarah. Was this how it was in her life all these years? Did she blindly accept whatever Giuseppe told her and not ask any questions?

No. Sarah seemed to know a lot more about what was happening in Mystic Falls. Elena didn't imagine Giuseppe told her everything, especially not the seedy, nasty, violent things, but she doubted he kept much from Sarah. She didn't strike Elena as the type of woman who would take that shit.

 _So ,why are you?_ Elena asked herself.

It wasn't the first time she had wondered that. Damon wanted to protect her by shielding her. She respected and understood that. Sitting here next to Enzo, she accepted that there were actually some things she really didn't want to know. Her life was complicated enough right now. She didn't want to know about the ugly, distasteful things that made the underworld work.

Enzo no longer had the garage parking permit for the penthouse's private garage, but he was able to sweet talk the attendant into letting them through because she recognized him. He pulled into a visitor spot that was a tight fit and boxed in by pylons. "Are you coming in with me or staying here?"

"I will stay here."

"I'm leaving the keys with you." He dropped the key fob into the cup holder between us. "Lock the doors. Don't open them for anyone but me."

"Yes, Warden."

Enzo got out of the car and waited until he heard the doors lock to walk away from it. Elena leaned back in the seat and checked the notifications on her phone. She glanced up whenever she heard a vehicle approaching or noticed movement in the mirrors. Nothing seemed out of place or odd—until she recognized the black SUV rolling into the parking garage.

What in the world was Damon doing here? Elena twisted in her seat to make sure it was actually him and it was.

Amused that they were in the same place at the same time, Elena called him. When he didn't answer, she decided to walk up the next level to his parking space. Enzo would probably flip his lid if he came back to find her gone so she texted him her plan as she killed the engine and got out of the car.

Elena followed the incline up to the next level and came around the corner just in time to see Damon step out of his SUV. She started to call out to him but stopped when she realized he was smiling at someone else.

What the hell?

Frozen in place, she watched as Damon embraced a slender and very elegantly dressed woman.

It was her. It was the redhead from the salon. It was the woman who had plans to meet up with her ex.

Her ex?

Her current boyfriend.

Damon.

Shocked, Elena watched her slide her arm through his. They laughed and smiled at each other as they walked towards the elevator. Not wanting to be caught, Elena backed up quickly, hiding her body behind a concrete pillar. Putting a shaking hand to her throat, she tried to swallow the quivering ball choking her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Enzo startled her as he came up behind her without warning. "I told you to stay in the car."

"I saw Damon," Elena numbly replied.

"Damon? Here?" Enzo stepped around the pillar and spotted the SUV. "Why are you hiding here? If you saw Damon, why didn't—"

"He wasn't alone." The words came out so quietly that Elena wasn't sure he heard her. "He was meeting a woman."

"Damn." Enzo grabbed her hand and tugged her back towards the car. "We need to get out of here right now."

The stupor that had momentarily taken hold was replaced by anger. What the hell was Damon doing here with that woman? Why hadn't he told her he was meeting someone here at the penthouse?

Elena already knew that answer, of course. She knew that he wouldn't have lied to her about a business meeting and a favour for a friend if there was an innocent explanation for this. There was only one reason to take that woman to the penthouse in the middle of the afternoon.

Furious, Elena dug in her heels. "No!"

Enzo whirled back to her. "Yes!"

"No!"

"Elena, we are leaving right now. If you don't walk, I will pick you up and carry you to that car. Do you understand me?"

"Screw you! I'm going up to that apartment and I'm going to confront him."

"No, you are not." Enzo put both hands on her shoulders. His touch was surprisingly gentle as he lowered his face until they were eye to eye. "I'm not going to stand here and let you make a scene and embarrass yourself. You are going home. You are going to cool off and calm down and then you are going to make peace with this and keep your mouth shut."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"You will do that because you are going to go home and realize that without Damon you have nothing. You have no home. You have no money. You have no job. Your sister is still missing. Marko and the Mexicans have both painted a target on your back. That man is the only thing that stands between you and death. If you want to stay alive, you need him and you need to keep him happy."

Torn up inside, Elena blinked rapidly and tried to fight the tears burning her eyes. She didn't want to accept anything Enzo had to say, but deep down inside, she knew he was right. Without Damon, she was as good as dead. Sooner or later, Kai's body would be found and she would be marked for death.

But she didn't want Damon like this. She wanted him the right way. She wanted him to love her as much she loved him. She wanted him to be hers and only hers forever. She didn't want to share him with anyone else.

"This is so messed up, Enzo."

"Life is messed up." Gently wiping away the tears on her face, Enzo said, "It is time to grow up, Elena. You are sweet and kind and good. Damon loves that about you. He is offering you the full package. He is offering you a home, money, access to powerful people and trendsetters. He is offering you a future."

"So what? You are saying I have to accept that?" Elena gestured towards his SUV. "That I have to just swallow his infidelity?"

"These whores get the penthouse. They get an hour of his time and then they are done. But you? You will get the ring. You will get the house. You will get his name. You will have his babies. He will take care of you, and you will be happy if you can learn to cast a blind eye to this bullshit. It is a small price to pay."

"That's not good enough for me, Enzo."

His mouth flattened into a sad line. "Then you are a fool, Elena."

"I guess I am," Elena agreed miserably.

Enzo awkwardly hugged her, wrapping his brawny arms around her shoulders and squeezing her tight. His embrace surprised her at first. He wasn't the most touchy-feely of guys, but deep down inside, he was a good man. He didn't always say the nicest things, but he was gentle when it counted. He understood that she was in pain and needed some support right now.

With his arm around her shoulder, he led Elena back to the car and helped her into the passenger seat. They didn't speak as he drove her back to Damon's house. She stared out the window and tried to process everything that had just happened. She didn't know what to think or feel anymore. Everything she had accepted to be true about Damon and about their relationship had been decimated. It was all lies. All of it.

 _I have to get out. I have to get out now,_ Elena said to herself.

But where would she go? Bonnie? She was already on the hook for Kai's death. If she ran to her, they would be two perfectly placed targets alone in that apartment of hers.

Katherine.

She could try to find Katherine and then they could disappear together. She had the money Damon had given her not a lot, but it would be enough to get them on a bus. They would have to start over, but they weren't afraid of hard work. They could sleep in roach motels and eat ramen until they had enough scraped together to get an apartment.

"Don't even think about it," Enzo warned as they walked into the house a short time later.

"Think about what?" Elena played dumb.

"You are thinking about running. It is not going to happen, Elena. Not on my watch. I will handcuff you to me if that is what it takes to keep you safe."

He was dead serious. "Enzo—"

"No, Elena. You are safe here. It might not be ideal, but you will have to learn to accept it. For both our sakes," he added. Taking her hand, he dragged Elena through the house to the office she had taken over with her supplies. Flipping on the light, he pointed towards her tools. "The best thing you can do right now is take all that anger and pain inside you and turn it into fuel for work."

"Work? Right now? When I feel like I'm dying inside?"

"Yes. Right now." He gave her a little push towards the desk. "Damon believes in you and in this business. He is not wrong about either of those things. He believes you will be a success. Use him to get what you want."

"That is so cold, Enzo."

"And fucking that other woman while you are here playing house isn't?"

Elena recoiled at the ugly way he framed it. "Enzo!"

"It is the truth, Elena, and that is why you have to listen to me," he insisted. "You have a big, soft heart, Elena. Make your money. Get back on your feet. Then get the hell out before he ruins you."

 _He has already ruined me,_ Elena thought dejectedly. She had fallen for Damon's charm like so many other women before her. She was a fool. She was just as stupid and pathetic as her mother had been, always chasing after the wrong men.

Elena had believed she was different, that Damon could love her more than any of the others because she was special, but she had been dead wrong. She wasn't special. She wasn't different. Naïve. Childish. Hopelessly romantic. She was all those things.

Enzo was right. It was time for her to grow up and see the world as it truly was. Her life had taught her many painful lessons. This failed relationship with Damon was just another one of them. She had been an idiot to place her safety and her future in the hands of a man. She had given up her home and her job for empty promises.

With renewed determination, Elena sorted out her projects and chose three of them. Two needed finishing touches. Punching holes in leather proved to be rather therapeutic. Setting grommets and eyelets felt even better. A few times, Enzo came to the open door to watch her as she slammed a mallet down again and again. The thick board she used as a working platform absorbed most of the energy but the loud thud echoed in the office.

When she was finished with those two handbags, she wrapped them in pillowcases, tagged a note to each one and then then picked up the third order form. The client had chosen a fawn shade of leather for her handbag and wanted some feathery designs burned into it. Elena selected the pyrography tips she would need and attached them to the pens before plugging them in to heat.

Carefully, she unfolded the sheet of vegetable tanned leather and inspected it again for any blemishes. Satisfied with its condition, she measured out the leather she needed and cut it with her super sharp shears. She found the design they had settled on and used the copy of it as a template. She traced the template with a ballpoint stylus.

When Elena was finished, she set aside the paper and picked up the stylus pen she needed for the tracing. The heat radiating from the tip warmed her fingers and reminded her to use excess caution. In her early days of leather burning, Elena had scorched her fingertips so many times. It had taken two years of working with these tools regularly to feel comfortable with them. Even now, she worried about safety all the time, always looking for things that would melt or catch fire and keeping her fingers safe from the blazing hot tips.

While she methodically traced the imprint the stylus had created, she couldn't stop thinking about Damon and the redhead. Embarrassed, Elena remembered the way the redhead had looked at her when Bonnie had made her ill-timed joke about her sugar daddy. Even worse, she remembered the way Nisha had glanced back at the salon's cutting floor when she was talking to her in private. She must have known that Damon was stepping out on her with the glam redhead.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Elena realized what a fool she had been the last few days. The worst part? She had let Damon put her at risk of not only pregnancy but an STD. She couldn't be sure he was telling the truth about always using protection with his other partners. Ashamed, she decided that tomorrow morning she would go straight to the clinic. Her days of being cavalier with her health and future were over.

Distracted by thoughts of pregnancy and sickness, she wasn't paying attention when she reached out for the copy of the design to check her work so far. The cord of the pen she held tugged on the other pen plugged in next to it. She heard the other pen falling and reacted on instinct, reaching out to grab it before it fell on the floor.

"OW!" Elena screamed in pain as the sharp skew tip burned her fingers. The unbelievable pain as it simultaneously burned and sliced was so bad she shrieked again and ripped it away from her blistering skin.

Enzo barrelled into the room. "What happened?"

Gripping her injured hand, she sobbed in pain. "I burned myself."

He was at Elena's side in a second. "Let me see." When she pulled her hand back, he took it firmly and repeated himself. "Let me see it, Elena."

When she showed him, he winced. Reaching down, he unplugged the pyrography pens so they wouldn't start a fire. In a flash of speed, he scooped her up and rushed her to the kitchen. He put her hand under the faucet and started running cold water onto her wounded fingers. The heat in her fingers was almost too much to bear, and the cold sting felt even worse.

"I know it hurts but you have to cool it down." He found a plastic sandwich bag in a drawer and took it to the refrigerator where he filled it up with ice. He wet a towel under the faucet and wrung it out before wrapping the ice pack with it. "Put this on your hand. We need to get you to the emergency room right now."

It was the last place Elena wanted to go, but he was right. This wasn't a small burn she could fix with some antibiotic ointment and a bandage. Holding her hand to her chest, Elena followed Enzo out of the house and into the car. He helped her fasten her seatbelt before jogging around and getting behind the wheel.

Backing out of the garage, he shook his head. "You have the worst luck of any woman I have ever met."

Hand throbbing and heartbroken, Elena could only nod in quiet acceptance of that fact. The worst luck ever…


	23. Chapter 23

Pulling into the penthouse parking garage, Damon wrapped up his phone call with Stefan and parked in his usual spot. It felt strange coming back here. This was usually a place that filled him with excitement and lust. Today he felt none of that. The woman he wanted wasn't waiting for him upstairs. She was on her way home.

Sitting here waiting for Marissa, he had never been more sure he was making the right decision to sell this property. Everything he wanted was waiting for him in the house that always seemed so empty and cold. With Elena's help, he would turn that place into a home. He wanted pictures of their smiling faces on the walls. He wanted her books on his shelves. He wanted her socks mixed in with his. Someday he wanted their noisy, messy children running through the halls.

He sighted Marissa's flashy Mercedes and exited his SUV. He buttoned his suit jacket and welcomed her with a smile. The elegantly dressed woman who embraced him in a cloud of floral and musk was nothing like the woman who had seduced and propositioned him over a year ago.

Back then, Marissa had been one of Logan's most popular girls, but she had known her days were numbered on the stage. She had been putting herself through school, but she had needed connections and money to create a new life for herself. In that first negotiation, she had proven to him that she had a mind for business. He had been impressed with her drive and ambition and had never doubted that she would find success.

"Damon!" She embraced him and kissed his cheek.

"Hello, Marissa." Not so long ago, her shape and warmth had been so familiar to him. Today, he was surprised by how wrong it felt to hug her. Too tall. Too thin. Too much perfume. He mentally catalogued all the ways she was different from Elena.

Stepping to his side, she linked her arm with his. "So how was your day?"

"Busy but good." He escorted her to the private elevator. "You?"

"I had a business breakfast with Marko."

"Really? What did he want?"

"He asked me to join his firm." She preened like a peacock. "He wants to give me a department and everything."

Whatever his disagreements with Marko over Elena and her sister, he grudgingly acknowledged that the man ran a successful business. If Marko was being serious about asking Marissa to come on-board, it could be a huge career shift for her. "Get a lawyer and negotiate whatever contract he offers."

She laughed and stepped inside the elevator. "I heard your voice in my head while I was at breakfast with him. His terms were favourable, but I have some points I want to negotiate."

"Push hard, Marissa. He knows what an asset you will be to him in this new market. Make him pay."

"You don't need to worry about that." They exited the elevator and walked to the door of the apartment. While she waited for him to unlock the door, she leaned back against the wall and smiled coyly. "I have missed that elevator ride and the walk to this door."

When she reached out and trailed her fingers down his arm, Damon realized he had to say something. Though he had hoped to avoid any awkwardness, he could tell that was no longer a possibility. "Marissa," he said her name in the gentlest way possible, "I'm involved with someone."

Her smile slowly collapsed and her hand fell. "Involved?"

"It is serious." Not wanting there to be any doubt, he added, "I'm going to marry her."

Marissa seemed flabbergasted by that admission. "Is she pregnant?"

"No!" But he wasn't sure of that, was he? "It doesn't matter if she is or isn't. She is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with," he answered simply.

Gawking at him as if she had never seen him before, she asked, "What makes her so special that you want to marry her? After all of us that have come through those doors?" She gestured to the penthouse entrance. "What does she have that we didn't?"

"It is not easy to explain. She just—she is the one." He touched his chest. "I felt it right here the first time I met her."

Narrowing her eyes, Marissa asked, "And when, exactly, did you meet her?"

He wasn't going to lie. "When we were together."

"I see." Her mouth thinned to a perturbed line. Knowing that Marissa could make trouble for Elena, he wanted to set the record straight.

"You don't. Elena had no idea about me and you or any of the others before you. Elena and I never dated or even kissed until months after we had ended things. I don't think she even realized I was interested in her until very recently."

"How is that possible? You are living, breathing, walking sex!"

Damon shrugged. "She is not like us. She doesn't understand the games we played or the arrangements we enjoyed."

Marissa wrinkled her nose. "She sounds like a naïve little romantic."

"She probably is," Damon agreed. "But that is what I love about her. She is a good person with a big heart."

"She makes you happy?"

"Very." Happy didn't even come close to describing how he felt with Elena.

"Then I'm glad you found her," Marissa said with a warm smile. "What we had together was fun, Damon, but it never would have lasted. I will confess that I was hoping this was an invite for another round of fun with you, but I won't pout now that you have told me you are getting married."

"Thank you. I appreciate that we can be adults about this."

"You never promised me forever. I never promised you forever. I would like to think we can be friends." She paused. "Well—we can be friends if your soon-to-be wife allows it."

"She will." Despite that bit of jealousy this morning, Elena wasn't the controlling type. More than that, she would trust him to behave like a gentleman.

"All right." Marissa inhaled a deep breath. "Well, if you are done breaking my heart, let's get inside this penthouse and start talking numbers."

Relieved their conversation had gone well, he followed her into the penthouse and let her give him the rundown of the property's value. She had done her homework, presenting him with recent comps as well as a look at the current inventory of similar properties. She presented him with a plan for selling this penthouse and the other slightly smaller apartment he owned on this floor and admitted that she had four prospective buyers in mind.

"Give me a week to get it staged, photographed and listed. I can't guarantee a closed transaction by Christmas, but I will work hard to make it happen."

"I know you will." Damon extended his hand, and they shook on their deal. "Do I need to come by the office to sign paperwork?"

"I will email you. We try to do as much electronically as possible in our office. It is easier for our very busy clients."

Their plan in place, they left the penthouse. Damon made sure Marissa got into her car safely before getting behind the wheel of his SUV. He checked his watched and decided he had enough time to swing by his attorney's office to pick sign some paperwork and pick up a sample contract and business structure forms that he had requested.

By the time he was finished, he had just enough time to drive to The Grill for the reservation Giuseppe had arranged. When he arrived at the restaurant, he was quickly seated in a private corner and ordered a beer. He wasn't left to wonder about the identity of his dinner date for long. The moment he spotted Marko coming through the door, he knew.

As Marko drew near, his gaze shifted from their table to the various entrances and exits into the main room that put him at risk. Damon had already taken the chair that put his back to the wall. If Marko wanted to feel safe, he should have arrived earlier.

"Damon."

"Marko."

Marko took his seat and ordered a whiskey, neat, to start off his night. Picking up the menu, he glanced over it. "Your father decided it was better for the two of us to meet in public on neutral territory. At least he chose a restaurant where we can settle things over steak and whiskey." He glanced up and grinned. "Like real men."

Damon let loose a rough laugh and sipped his beer. "Real men don't send hoodlums after innocent women."

The waiter stopped at the table and left Marko's whiskey. They weren't ready to order yet so he offered to return in a few minutes.

Once they were alone, Marko levelled a dark look his way. "I will admit that my men went beyond what was expected or authorized. Your girl was never part of my beef with the sister. They were only ever supposed to scare her."

"They succeeded." Damon's jaw tightened as he remembered Elena's terrified face when he found her in that parking lot.

"And you succeeded in putting them all in the hospital," Marko retorted. "You could have killed them."

"Touch Elena again and I will do exactly that," Damon warned.

"I suppose that would be fair," Marko allowed. "If someone put hands on my wife, I wouldn't let them walk away either."

Wives. Children. Parents. The underworld code demanded that they all be protected from retaliation or harm. The men who broke those rules were considered untrustworthy and ostracized. If a man couldn't do business, he couldn't earn and that meant he couldn't eat.

"I know the score when it comes to Elena," Marko assured him. "She is completely safe from me."

"Good."

"But you must realize that I can't be seen to just let you walk away without any consequence, Damon." Markokicked back his Macallan. "You have been out of this world for a while, but you know the way it works. If I'm seen giving you a pass, it makes me look weak. I can't grow and build my business here if people think they can walk all over me."

"You should have thought of that before you went against Elena."

"She is not your wife. Hell," Marko sat forward, "she is not even your fiancée. I had it checked out. She doesn't wear your ring."

"She will soon."

"But she wasn't when the attack happened," Marko insisted. "How the hell was I supposed to know she was protected by your mafia family? I can't read minds." He spread his hands out in front of him. "That is one rule I never break. Black, white, Mexican, Vietnamese—I don't give a shit what colour your woman is. I don't touch them."

Damon didn't want to see things from Marko's point of view, but he had to admit that the man had a point. Elena hadn't technically been his when the trouble had started. Marko might have—probably would have—reacted differently if Elena had been openly claimed.

Damon shifted in his chair and exhaled loudly. "What do you want?"

Marko leaned forward. "We are starving on these streets. I'm boxed in tight. I need to grow."

"You know I can't help you with that. Your territory problems have to be sorted out by the council. That is a vote I can't sway."

"No? Because I hear you are very good friends with Logan…"

"That friendship goes back many years," Damon agreed, "but he is a man with his own mind. H i's looking out for his family first. It is about blood with them. I have absolutely no influence over his decisions."

The waiter approached their table again, and both men placed their orders. When the waiter was gone, Damon drummed his fingers on the table. "There might be something else I can offer you."

"And what is that?"

"A piece of something legitimate."

"I'm listening."

Damon laid out his plans for the pieces of commercial real estate he had been quietly and cheaply collecting for the last five years. He explained that he needed a partner to develop those sites, handle the leases and support the businesses that would occupy them.

Sketching out one of the buildings on the back of a business card as they ate, he explained, "This one is a special case. It is in a prime location. We are going to install a jewellery store in this centre spot, an art gallery here on this side and a high-end luxury women's boutique here."

"We?"

"My father and I," Damon clarified.

"And the work?"

"My father will expect that his construction firms get first pick. You would get second. We will have to offer pieces of the action to the other families in town. If we don't, we will run into problems with deliveries and supply thefts."

Marko grumbled with irritation, but he nodded in acceptance of that fact. It wouldn't be easy parcelling out the jobs to develop these properties, but it would have to be done.

Marko would always be an outsider in the city. After his predecessors had caused all those problems for Logan and Mr Slater, Marko would never be able to reach the inner circle of the top bosses. He would be blocked at every turn. Furthermore, the AB syndicate's philosophies made it impossible for the crews under Nicky Jackson or the Hermanos and the cartels to trust them or work with them unless it was absolutely necessary.

But if Marko played his cards right, he might be able to gain their trust and find ways to work with them that didn't violate either party's honour codes.

"And can I interest either of you in dessert?" the waiter asked as he cleared away their plates.

"None for me," Damon said with a wave of his hand.

"I'll have another Macallan." Marko touched his empty glass. "And then I'm done." When the waiter left, Marko asked, "What have you heard about Kai?"

Damon turned it around on him. "What have you heard?"

"That he is missing." Marko eyed him with thinly veiled suspicion. "That there is a burned up body on ice down at the morgue that is closed to his size."

Damon shrugged. "He is not my problem. We ended things on good terms. We had no bad blood between us."

Marko obviously didn't believe that lie, but the waiter returned with his Macallan before he could say anything else.

Damon took the check and tucked a credit card into the black leather folio. When the waiter left their table, Damon met Marko's interested stare. "Wherever Kai is and whatever happened to him, I trust that the mafia family and the other bosses have it under control." He made a quick slashing gesture across the front of his throat. "You know what they say about tall poppies…"

"I will have to remember not to grow too tall."

"That is probably a good idea." Damon grasped the folio the waiter handed him, added a sizeable tip to the check and signed his name across the bottom. "I enjoyed our dinner." He tucked his card back into his wallet. "We will have to do a working lunch soon."

"I will have my office set something up."

Their meeting finished, Damon excused himself and left the restaurant. Despite the company, the meal had been delicious. He would have to bring Elena here.

Thinking of her, he wondered why he hadn't heard from her since their short afternoon chat. It finally occurred to him that he had switched his phone to Do Not Disturb during the morning sales meeting. He hadn't added Elena's number to the proper list yet so her calls and texts wouldn't have sent an alert.

As he walked to his SUV, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the screen. There were nine calls from Enzo, two from Giuseppe and one from Elena. Stomach churning, he dialled Elena's number but there was no answer. He tried Enzo next.

The enforcer answered on the first ring. "Where the hell are you?"

Taken aback, Damon said, "I just finished a business meeting. Why?"

"Elena is in the hospital."

"What?" Damon's heart slammed into his sternum. It beat wildly as he tried to focus. Elena. Hospital. Feeling real fear, he demanded, "What happened? Which hospital?"

"We are at Mystic Falls Hospital. The emergency room. She burned her hand. It is not good."

A burn? His heart slowed some. He had been envisioning the worst—a car accident or a gunshot wound. A burn could be healed. A burned hand wouldn't kill her.

But she would be in tremendous pain. His chest tightened as he realized he wouldn't be able to shield her from that. Knowing that she was alone and scared and suffering gutted him.

"I will be there in fifteen minutes." He considered the time of night and the traffic. "It might be closer to thirty with parking."

Enzo ended the call before he could ask to speak with Elena. Worried by the bodyguard's gruff tone, Damon jogged to his vehicle. He had just gotten behind the wheel when his phone rang again. The Bluetooth connection picked it up so he could drive hands-free. "Yes?"

"Where are you?" Giuseppe's exasperation came through clearly. "I just called the restaurant and they said you had left."

"I'm on my way to the hospital."

"So you heard from Enzo," Giuseppe deduced.

"Yes."

"You should know that there was a shooting tonight. One of Nicky's boys popped one of Diego's over a girl. Diego's soldier was taken to Ben Taub. I sent Wes to Mystic Falls Hospital when Enzo called looking for you. You shouldn't have any problems, but I would rather be safe than sorry."

The last thing Damon needed or wanted was to get caught in the crossfire of another's gang's retaliation. Everything was so tightly packed together downtown in the hospital. It would be hard to keep the two gangs separated if the Hermanos decided to seek retaliation.

"Call me see me tomorrow before you leave town so we can talk about your meeting. If you or Elena needs anything, Sarah and I are only a few minutes away."

"Thank you."

Damon made the drive in record time. He used the valet, handing off his keys and snatching the ticket before rushing inside the hospital. He scanned the packed emergency room and spotted Wes standing in a far corner.

"Where is Elena?" he asked as he drew near.

"They took her back about ten minutes ago."

"Only ten minutes?" The first missed call from Enzo had occurred nearly two hours ago.

Wes nodded. "She has been waiting here forever. They are slammed tonight."

Damon's chest ached at the thought of her sitting here in pain for so long. "I need to see her."

"Let me text Enzo. He can switch out with you. They are only allowing one person in with each patient."

Wes sent his text. A short time later, Enzo appeared at the double doors. He held them open so Damon could get into the treatment area. Wordlessly, her bodyguard pointed out the exam room where Elena waited. Judging by the stony expression on Enzo's face, the enforcer wasn't happy. Whatever had pissed him off would have to wait.

Hoping he had the right room, Damon pulled the curtain aside only a few inches to check. Elena sat on a hospital bed, her legs dangling over the side and her arm resting on a tray. Her injured palm and fingers were covered by a blue surgical towel. Head drooping, she looked utterly exhausted.

He stepped into the room. "Elena?"

Her head snapped up, but instead of greeting him with a relieved smile or happiness, she scowled. "What are you doing here? I told Enzo not to call you."

"Of course he is going to call me, Elena." He walked closer and stopped in front of her. "I belong right here with you if you have been hurt."

When he tried to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear, she pulled her head away from him with a harshly hissed, "Don't."

Surprised by her reaction, he dropped his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever." She wouldn't meet his confused gaze and seemed thoroughly pissed off by his presence.

Damon tried not to let her behaviour bother him. She was obviously in pain and tired. He vividly remembered the many times he had been in emergency rooms because of injuries sustained on the streets or fighting in cages. He had always been irritated and frustrated and a right bastard.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry? I can send Enzo for something." He wanted to make her comfortable while they waited.

"Enzo took care of me already." Elena gestured to the bottle of water and empty candy bar wrapper on the counter. "I don't need anything from you."

In all the time he had known her, Damon had never glimpsed this side of Elena. It convinced him that she was in an intense amount of discomfort. Otherwise she never would have been so cross. Wanting her to know that he didn't intend for this to ever happen again, he apologized. "I'm sorry that I missed your call earlier and that I didn't get here sooner. You needed me, and I wasn't there for you. It won't happen again."

Elena lifted her tired head and stared at him. Her expression turned dark. "How was your business meeting?"

He might have imagined it, but her tone sounded accusatory. "It was fine. I had dinner with Marko. We ironed things out between us over steak."

"And your other meeting?"

Damon frowned. "Other meeting?"

Elena made a disgusted sound and rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously going to stand right there in front of me and lie?"

Thrown by her statement, he asked, "Lie about what?"

"I saw you!"

"Saw me where?"

"At the penthouse!"

"What were you doing at the penthouse?"

"That is the question you ask?"

Suddenly, he was very glad for the tray between them. Elena looked as if she wanted to punch him right in the face. "What other question am I supposed to ask?"

"Apparently, this is the point where men like you ask what bright, shiny, expensive thing I want to make up for the other woman you are sleeping with behind my back," she shot back nastily.

"Men like me? The other woman? What are you—?" And then it hit him. She must have seen him with Marissa. "Elena, I don't know what you think you saw—"

"All right, Miss Gilbert," a doctor interrupted and pulled back the curtain, "let's take a look at that hand."

Damon stepped aside so Elena could receive the care she needed. As he watched the doctor examine the nasty burns on her fingers and palm, Damon tried to control the panic building inside him. His meeting with Marissa had been completely innocent, but he could imagine what it must have looked like to Elena. She knew why he had that penthouse. She knew his history. She was already feeling vulnerable after his morning blunder in bed. Finding him with Marissa must have been shocking and upsetting to her.

 _I should have told her I was meeting Marissa,_ Damon cursed silent. It seemed so obvious now, but at the time, it hadn't even occurred to him. _Because you aren't treating her like your partner._ No, he was still treating her like a pretty piece of arm candy. She deserved better and more from him.

"You did a number on these fingers," the doctor said. "I want to have a plastic surgeon consult on this. She may have a different idea for treatment."

"Um…I don't know think my insurance—"

"I will handle it," Damon insisted. "I don't care who you have to call or what it costs. I want her to get the best treatment."

"That is all I want for any of my patients," the doctor said before leaving the room.

Assured of a few private moments with Elena, he stepped back in front of her and moved the tray out of the way. He supported her wrist with his left hand and cupped her face with the right. "Elena, please look at me."

Elena reluctantly lifted her gaze. "I don't want to hear it, Damon. Maybe it is good that this happened now. I realize that I'm not cut out for this. You want something I can't give you."

"Stop," he ordered gently. "You are all I want." She started to protest, but he pleaded for a moment. "Please let me explain."

She exhaled slowly. "Fine."

"Yes, I did meet with Marissa today. I did not sleep with her. In fact, I made it very clear to her that I'm serious about you."

Elena's eyes glimmered with hope. She wanted to believe him, but the childhood she had suffered had left her wounded and vulnerable and unable to trust. He had abused her trust this afternoon by not being honest with her. "Are you going to Vegas this weekend?"

"How did you—?"

"I saw your redhead—Marissa—at the salon. She was telling her stylist about her plans to meet up with her ex in Vegas. When I saw you with her—"

He couldn't even begin to imagine how betrayed she must have felt when she had seen him with Marissa after having to listen to her talk about Vegas and her plans. "I was going to Vegas, Elena. I have done it for years to celebrate my birthday. It is a boys-only trip with my friends and my brother. If she was going, it was on her dime and without an invitation from me."

Standing in front of her, caressing her cheek, he finally realized what a colossal asshole he had been. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to think I would be able to enjoy Vegas without you. I think my days of boys-only trips are behind me."

"There is nothing wrong with you going on trips with your friends and your brother."

"I should have told you I was planning to go. I should have told you about my meeting with Marissa."

"Why did you meet with her today?"

"She is a very good real estate agent. I'm selling the penthouse."

"What? When did you decide—?"

"This morning," he said, stroking her cheek. "I don't need that place anymore." He kissed her forehead. "I have you, and we have our house."

Her surprised gaze flicked to his. "Our house?"

Teasing his mouth against hers, he whispered, "Ours."

"Knock knock." A surgeon in scrubs poked her head into the room. "Oops! Sorry to interrupt."

Elena smiled up at him and then at the surgeon. "It is fine."

Damon stepped aside as the surgeon and a nurse walked into the small room. The surgeon washed her hands in the sink and slipped into a pair of gloves before sliding the tray back under Elena's hand to examine it. He moved behind Elena and put a comforting, soothing hand on her shoulder.

Elena winced and hissed as the surgeon probed her burned skin. Seeing her in pain was almost too much for him to handle. He listened intently as the surgeon decided on a plan of treatment. When the nurse stepped out to get the necessary supplies, the surgeon assured Elena the injury looked much worse than it was.

"We will watch for contracture as the wounds heal. If you scar badly, I can revise them. We will make sure you get the number for my office so you can schedule an appointment next week. I see no reason to be overly concerned. The biggest risk right now is infection. In a month, you will be fully healed. But maybe we will be more careful with our tools?"

Elena smiled sheepishly. "Yes. Definitely."

Half an hour later, Elena held her freshly bandaged hand close to her chest. Each finger had been slathered in antibiotic ointment and wrapped individually. Her palm had also been treated and bandaged.

"Have you had a tetanus booster?" the surgeon asked as she washed her hands.

"Um…"

The surgeon laughed. "I will see if we can get you one tonight."

"Great," Elena answered sarcastically.

"Better safe than sorry," the surgeon said and patted Elena's arm. "I will see you next week in my office. Okay?"

"Yes. Thank you."

It was another hour before Elena had her tetanus booster and discharge instructions. Feeling terrible for her, he draped his jacket around her shoulders and curved his arm around her back as he walked her out of the emergency room. She stopped to thank each nurse and technician who had helped her tonight, even the harried triage nurse who had made her wait so long for her turn.

"It is not her fault that this place is so busy," Elena said when she saw his face. "You know how emergency rooms are," she said with a shrug. "If you can't afford insurance or if your copays are too high, you put things off until they become serious."

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy that you were made to wait while you were in pain." He spotted Enzo and Wes as they came through the double doors. Both men had their gazes fixed on something across the room. They reminded him of a pair of watchdogs with their hackles raised. When he realized what they were staring at, he understood why.

Alaric Saltman and two police officers stood on either side of a handcuffed man with a bloody face and even bloodier shirt. Another line of officers stood in front of the entrance to the emergency room. Damon didn't have to think too hard to come up with possible explanations for the police presence. Even from here, he could see the Hermanos tattoos on the bloody man's arms and neck and the sides of his shaved head. With what Giuseppe had told him earlier, he would put his money on retribution.

Enzo stood up. Voice lowered, he said, "We need to get the hell out of here right now."

"Elena?" Alaric called out to her, and Damon quietly cursed under his breath. There would be no quick escape now. "Elena?"

"Hi, Alaric." She flashed the detective a smile as he approached. Enzo and Wes stepped up behind her, forming a human wall of support.

Alaric's gaze slid to the men flanking Elena before it moved to her bandaged hand. "Are you okay?"

"I got a little careless with my tools and burned my hand. I will be fine in a few weeks."

"That is good to hear." Alaric glanced around the busy waiting room. He motioned towards the nearest corner. "Can we talk?"

Damon caught Elena's questioning gaze and shook his head. "It is late, Alaric. She is tired, and she is in pain. Whatever it is can wait until morning."

"No, it can't." Alaric stepped forward and lowered his voice. "We found Mason's Escalade this afternoon. There was enough evidence in the vehicle to confirm that someone was killed in it."

Elena's face went slack with shock. "He is dead?"

"Yes—and that is not all." Alaric glanced left and right before stepping closer and lowering his voice to a barely audible level. "We identified that body from the motel. It is Kai. Before all this shit," he glanced back at the bloody man, "blew up tonight, the biggest news on the street was about your sister. Everyone thinks she iced Kai and Mason. There is a bounty on her head, and a lot of people will want to collect. One of my informants mentioned your name as part of that bounty."

"What the hell is your problem, Alaric?" Damon snarled at the detective as Elena went white next to him. "Why the hell would you say something like that to her?"

"Because it is the truth," Alaric snapped. "She needs to know. If she is going to be safe—"

"She is perfectly safe. With me."

Alaric narrowed his eyes. "I'm just trying to keep Elena safe."

Enzo stepped forward. "She is safe."

Alaric sized up Enzo. "And when you are not with her and when Damon isn't with her?"

"Then I'm with her," Wes said.

The bloodied man on the other side of the waiting room started to shout and kick. Alaric looked back and frowned before returning his attention to them. Locking eyes with Damon, he said, "Get Elena out of here. Take that hall. Make a left and then a right. Go out the side exit. You think you may have vouched for Elena, but there are a lot of hot-headed soldiers with itchy trigger fingers hanging around this place." He expelled a tired breath. "And I'm tired of cleaning up blood tonight."

Damon took Alaric's advice and escorted Elena out of the building using the side exit. Wes took his valet ticket while he stayed behind with Enzo and Elena. She burrowed into Damon for warmth as they waited. Enzo pinned him in place with an aggravated look when he kissed her temple and embraced her.

Elena must have seen the look because she reached out and touched Enzo's arm. "We are fine. It was a misunderstanding. She is a real estate agent."

Enzo grunted and looked down the street. "If you say so…"

Damon didn't blame Enzo for being sceptical. Stroking Elena's hair and her back, he thought about how damn lucky he was that she had listened to his explanation and trusted that he was telling her the truth about Marissa. She could have made him grovel and beg and buy her forgiveness but she had given it freely. He wouldn't abuse her kindness by putting her in this position again.

When Wes arrived, Damon helped Elena into the passenger seat. He offered to drive the two guards to the valet stand to retrieve Enzo's vehicle, but they both declined.

"Do you have a list of supplies she needs?" Enzo asked. "We can stop at one of the drug stores and pick them up."

He handed Enzo the list he had scribbled down in the emergency room. "It is mostly bandages. They called in her prescription to the pharmacy. It is on the way home."

Enzo pocketed the list. "I will take care of it."

"Thank you." Damon slid behind the wheel and buckled his seatbelt. He touched Elena's good hand. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to stop somewhere?"

"I really just want to go home."

He brushed his knuckles along her cheek. She sagged in the seat, and he didn't think she would make it home still awake.

He was right. Elenanodded off before they reached the house. When he pulled into the garage, she woke up and smiled sleepily. He parked and got out, walking around the vehicle to her side and opening her door. He reached in and unbuckled her belt. "I will help you get undressed when we get upstairs."

"You would try to get me out of my clothes even with twenty yards of gauze wrapped around my hand," she teased.

He laughed and kissed her. "I promise I won't try anything. Come on. Let's get you in the house."

When they reached the door, he paused to turn off the alarm but noticed it hadn't been set. "Did you or Enzo turn on the alarm when you left?"

"I don't remember," she admitted. "Probably not. We were in a rush."

"It is fine. I just wanted to be sure that someone else hadn't turned it off." He unlocked the door and led her into the house. He turned on the lights in the kitchen. "Do you want me to make you something to eat? You need to stay up long enough to get your medicine from Enzo. It might be easier on your stomach if you have something in it."

"Nothing too heavy," she said.

"Toast? Juice?"

"That works." Elena settled into one of the seats at the smaller breakfast table. He made quick work of toasting bread and pouring juice. He scraped a thin layer of butter and another layer of blueberry preserves onto the toast before bringing it to her. Before she took the first bite, she said, "I kind of left a mess in your office. I will clean it up in the morning."

"Don't worry about it." He kissed the top of her head. "I will handle it." He gestured to her plate. "Eat."

Damon left her in the kitchen and made his way across the house. He had just stepped into his office when he felt the unmistakable presence of another person. The hair on his arms stood on edge as he took a step back and then another.

But it was too late.

"Stop right there," a shaky female voice ordered. "Or I will blow a hole right through you."


	24. Chapter 24

Raising his hands, Damon did as instructed. From the shadows of his office, Katherine stepped into view. Her face was a mess of bruises and scrapes. The men's clothing she wore looked as if it had been stolen from a hobo. Looking at the stains and wear, he decided it probably had been. Her sunken eyes were bloodshot. The white residue around her nose was impossible to miss.

High as a kite and pushed to the edge, she held a piece of shit pistol in her trembling hand. The Lorcin .380 was a true Saturday Night Special and it made him nervous. This one even had athletic tape wrapped around the grip to prevent print transfer. Whoever had sold it to her had known that she wanted a cheap piece to use and toss. Having it pointed at his face with her shaky hand at the trigger didn't sit well with him. One wrong move, and he was going to eat a bullet.

Hands in the air, he said, "Katherine, please put that gun down. It is not safe."

"Don't tell me what to do," she snarled. "I'm sick of men telling me what to do."

"Katherine, I'm not trying to upset you. I just want to keep both of us safe. That gun is a throwaway piece for a reason. If it fires—"

"I know what I'm doing. Mason taught me how to shoot." She swallowed hard and then pointed the gun at his chest. "From this distance, I won't miss."

Damon gritted his teeth. "Katherine, Elena is in the kitchen right now. If you hurt me, you will hurt her."

"Elena that bitch," Katherine snapped. "She betrayed me. She told Kai where to find me. He nearly killed me in that motel."

"Nearly killed you? He nearly killed Elena and Bonnie and me that night when we all ended up at that shithole where you were hiding. Elena didn't betray you. She went there to save you. She was willing to let Kai take her—to rape and abuse her—to save you and Bonnie and me"

"Bullshit!" Katherine shouted angrily. "She was the only one who knew where I was hiding!"

"Really? What about Mason? He knew where you were hiding."

Katherine roughly wiped her nose, smearing fresh blood across her upper lip and cheek. "He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't betray me. He loves me."

"Elena loves you."

"Oh, yeah. She loves me so much that instead of coming to look for me she decided to shack up with you like some sugar baby." Waving the gun at him, she said, "I always used to think that she was so stupid holding onto her virginity like that. Now I see why." Gesturing around his office with the gun, she laughed. "Look at what she bought with her body."

Damon frowned with distaste at Katherine's remark. "Your sister is not a whore."

"You sure about that? What did she trade for all of this? For the cars? For the money? For the house? For your protection?"

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you talk about your sister like that in her own house." Lowering his hands, he shook his head with disgust. "If you had come here for help and asked properly, respectfully, I would have given it to you with no questions asked. Breaking into our house? Putting a gun in my face? Talking shit about your sister? About the woman I plan to marry? You know what, Katherine? You can go and rot in hell."

"Rot in hell?" she screamed shrilly and gestured angrily with the gun. "Damn you!"

Damon saw the muzzle flash before he heard the crack of the gunshot. It echoed in the house like a thunderclap. Something hot and sharp burned through his arm. He stumbled back into a wall and tried to stay on his feet as Elena's panicked voice rang through the house.

 _Don't come here,_ he thought with frustration. _Run. Run._

But she was running toward him instead of to safety…

x x x

Elena had just bent down to put her plate and cup in the dishwasher when she heard Damon yelling. It surprised her because they were the only people in the house.

The alarm!

The alarm hadn't been set which meant anyone could have gotten into the house while they were away.

 _Oh no. No. No. No,_ Elena thought. _No._

Thinking only of Damon, Elena ran out of the kitchen. She gasped with shock at the gunshot that blasted her eardrums. "Damon!"

It was stupid. It was dangerous. But she ran towards across the house towards him, desperate to find him. He wouldn't have left her behind to bleed to death. She wasn't about to abandon him.

She rounded the corner of the arched doorway that led from the main living area. She spotted Damon against the wall, crumpled forward, blood spilling down his arm and onto the floor.

Damon looked at her and mouthed one word, "Run."

But a second later, Katherine stepped into the hallway. Elena almost didn't recognize her at first. She looked like hell. Strung out and bruised, she was dressed in an outfit that had to have been stolen from a homeless shelter. When she noticed Elena, she raised the gun in her direction and Elena flinched, fully expecting her to shoot her.

The bullet never came. Elena opened her eyes and found her sister staring at her. Just standing there with the gun pointed in her face as if wasn't sure whether to shoot her or not.

"Katherine?" Elena said her name quietly. "Katherine, what are you doing?"

Katherine lowered the gun by a few inches. "What are you doing?"

She seemed confused and scared. Trying to talk her down, Elena stated the obvious. "I'm standing here. I'm waiting for you to tell me what you need."

"What I need?" she repeated angrily. "What I need is help, but everyone abandoned me. Mason left me. You left me. I'm all alone and everyone is trying to kill me."

"I'm not trying to kill you. I'm trying to save your life. Everything I have done since that night at the Arena has been to keep you safe."

"Sleeping with this guy is supposed to keep me safe? Is that what you are telling me? That you bartered your body for me?"

"No, that is not what I'm saying. Everything Damon has given me, everything he has done for me and for you, was given freely."

Katherine wavered with uncertainty. Her lower lip wobbled as she asked, "Why didn't you come for me at the motel?"

"I did come for you. Bonnie and I both came for you. We had to get money first. I went to see Abby to get her to cash a check. I took the ten grand to the motel, but you were gone. Kai was waiting. He was so angry. He tried to…" Elena's voice drifted off, and she gulped. "I killed him, Katherine. He is dead. He can't touch you or me or anyone else we love anymore."

Katherine's face slackened. The gun drifted even lower. "You killed him?"

"We were fighting. He had a gun pointed at me. I shoved it toward his face, and Bonnie hit him. The gun fired—and he died."

"How are you still alive?"

"Damon took care of it." Elena stared back at her, and her eyes widened. Katherine understood what that meant.

"Took care of you, you mean," Katherine corrected. "Something tells me that he and that mob boss friend of his pinned all this shit on me and Mason."

Not wanting her anger to turn on Damon, Elena glanced at him. Still holding his bloody arm, he leaned against the wall and watched them with intense focus. Elena was afraid he would go for the gun and end up hurting Katherine or getting himself killed.

Desperate to save the man she loved and her sister, Elena started walking towards Katherine. "You are not safe here in Mystic Falls, Katherine. We have to get you out of the town. We have to get you some place safe." She moved closer and closer to her sister, approaching her like a wounded animal that might lash out at any moment. "If you want my help, you have to give me the gun, Katherine. I love you, and I want to save you, but I can't do that if you are trying to kill me or Damon."

They were so close now that Elena could smell the cigarette smoke and something far worse clinging to the clothing she had borrowed or stolen. She could see the vein in Katherine's neck jumping as her heart raced. Whether it was from fear or adrenaline or the drugs in her system Elena couldn't say. Her sister was lost and afraid—and Elena had to save her.

The door alarm chimed. Elena knew it was only a matter of time before Wes and Enzo found them. There was a risk they would overreact and hurt Katherine. She couldn't let that happen.

Bravely—and stupidly—Elena gripped the muzzle of the gun and slowly pushed it toward the ground. When Katherine didn't fight her, she took the pistol out of Katherine's hand, tugging gently until she let go. Damon stepped forward and snatched it away from Elena. He removed the magazine and cleared the chamber all while scowling at her sister.

Still holding the gun and magazine, Damon glanced down the hallway just as Enzo came into view. The bodyguard skidded to a halt. His shocked expression was almost comical. He looked at Elena and then Damon and then Katherine. "What the hell happened here?"

"Elena's sister dropped her gun, and it went off accidentally," Damon lied without missing a beat.

Enzo didn't believe him for one second, but he didn't question it. Glaring at Katherine he said, "Sounds like she needs to be more careful with guns."

"Enzo, will you please get Damon a towel?" Elena noticed Wes lingering behind Enzo. He had a weapon in his hand and seemed uncertain about whether or not he should holster it. "Please put that away and help me get this mess cleaned up." She glanced at Katherine. "Go sit in the office and wait for me."

With trembling hands, Elena cupped Damon's face and gazed up at him. In that moment, her love for this man overwhelmed her. She could have lost him because of her sister's carelessness. Choking back a sob, she asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded stoically. "I think it was just a graze."

That was just like him to minimize his injury. Elena pressed a lingering kiss to his mouth. "Let me look."

Damon nodded his permission. She managed to rip open his torn shirt sleeve and uncover the wound. It was a bloody, nasty mess, but it wasn't as bad she had feared. It really was a graze, but the skin was torn open and needed suturing or strips. "You need to go to the hospital."

"That is not happening." His hard expression reminded Elena of the night he had come to her rescue with that bat. This was the version of himself that he tried to keep hidden from her and everyone else. This was the cold-eyed man who could separate himself from pain and fear and do the terrible things that had helped him survive in prison and on the dangerous streets of Rome and Mystic Falls. "If I go to the ER, they will report the gunshot. Alaric will come sniffing around and then we will have a real problem."

"Here." Enzo brought some of the medical supplies that he had picked up for Elena at the drug store. "I will bandage it for you, but you will need some antibiotics and butterfly closures. I will have to make a trip to see our doctor."

"It can wait until I have dealt with Katherine."

She wanted to be the one who treated Damon's wound, but with a bandaged hand of her own, it wasn't possible. Enzo, Damon and Elena entered the office and found Katherine sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace. She had her head in her hands and sobbed quietly. Torn between comforting her sister and the man she loved, Elena hesitated. Damon made the decision for her when he walked away and dropped into his desk chair. She tried not to let his sudden change in demeanour upset her. He had just been shot, after all.

Kneeling down in front of Katherine, Elena wrapped her arms around her sister. Despite her anger with her sister for shooting Damon, she was relieved that her sister was alive. "It is going to be okay. I promise. We will find a way to make it right."

Damon hissed as Enzo cleaned his wound. He met Elena's gaze across the room. "We have to get her out of the country."

"How?" Elena didn't know the first thing about something like that. "If she goes to Mexico, she is walking right into cartel territory. There is no way we can get her to Canada. I'm sure Alaric has her ID and passport flagged."

"I know someone who can help." Damon winced as Enzo applied pressure to his wound. "Elena, go upstairs to our bedroom and open the bottom drawer in my dresser. There are some burner phones there. Grab one. Then go to the closet and open the drawer where I keep my ties. Lift the tray and pick up the leather jewellery case there. Bring them to me."

Elena nodded dutifully and hurried upstairs to do as he instructed. Burner phones weren't the only things she found in that bottom drawer. There were loaded weapons, extra boxes of ammunition, two knives and rolls of cash. When she went to his tie drawer, she found the jewellery case. It was stamped with the logo of a high-end jewellery store that she had only ever dreamed of visiting. She ignored the urge to open the case to see what was inside, grabbed a clean shirt for him and hurried back downstairs to the office.

Wes was wiping down the floor when she walked by him. "I will come by in the morning to repair the drywall."

Elena stopped and looked back at the wall and noticed the hole for the first time. Wes stood up and held out his hand. The round he had recovered rested on his palm. "Give this to Damon."

"What? Why would he—?"

"Trust me." Wes pressed it into her good hand. "He will want it."

Elena brought everything Damon had requested to him and placed them on the desk. She started to walk back to Katherine, but Damon grasped her hand and kept her from leaving. He rubbed his thumb in slow circles over the back of her hand. She understood this was his way of telling her that they were going to be okay. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead and whispered, "I know."

"Open the jewellery case," he ordered gently. "I need you to see it."

Elena did as he asked and nearly fainted when she uncovered the incredible necklace and earrings. Brilliant diamonds, some white and others canary yellow, glimmered inside the case. "What is this?"

"I bought this for you. I bought it the morning after I saved you in that alley." Damon traced the stones with his finger. "I wanted you to have these. I wanted to use these to show you how much you mean to me."

Not caring that her sister or two enforcers were watching them, Elena caressed his jaw. "I don't need diamonds to know how much you care about me."

Damon turned his head and kissed her palm. He smiled sadly. "That is a good thing because I'm going to have to use these to buy your sister's safety. I don't keep enough cash in my safe, and we can't wait for the banks to open. We have to get her out of the town tonight."

"I'm sorry," Elena whispered, feeling so much guilt at the situation they were in now. "I'm so sorry."

"Hush." He kissed her palm again. "I would spend every penny I have to make you happy. Saving your sister will make you happy. That is all that matters."

"I have something that might help you spend a little less money," Katherine interjected in a ragged voice. "Well—I mean, I did have something that might help. I'm not sure where it is now."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Our house is empty. All of our shit is gone."

"It is not gone. It is here."

"I figured as much. That's why I broke in here." Katherine made an apologetic face. "You are going to need a new window in your pool room. Your alarm isn't working either."

"You are lucky I forgot to turn on the alarm when we left for the ER," Elena said, lifting her hand. "Otherwise, you would be in the back of a police car right now."

As if Katherine hadn't even noticed Elena's hurt hand, her eyes widened. "What happened to you?"

"I burned myself."

"With those stupid wood burning tools? I told you those things are dangerous! I warned you that those cords were going to get tangled up and that you were going to knock something over and hurt yourself."

Elena rolled her eyes. "It was an accident."

"Why did you break into the house?" Damon interrupted their sisterly spat. "What did you hope to find here?"

"There was a box in my bedroom. The little jewellery box with the ballerina," Katherine clarified. "It has something in it that I need."

"I saw it when the delivery came," Enzo said and pushed off the wall he had been leaning against. "I dropped a box and it fell out. I will go get it."

"What is it?" Damon asked. "And don't lie to me, Katherine. The man I'm going to call is not someone who tolerates lies."

Katherine swallowed anxiously. "Earlier this year, Mason and I started thinking about getting out of the life. We were tired of it. He was sick of the drugs and the guns and the gambling. He felt like Kai was never going to let him have his own crew or grow his territory." She rubbed her face between her grubby hands. "One of his friends from high school—Edgar—came to him with this scheme. He had been running it small time by himself, but he needed money to get it off the ground and he needed access to computers and businesses."

"Like mine," Damon interrupted with irritation.

Katherine nodded reluctantly. "Like yours. We came up with a plan, and we started small with companies that had little or no security. I would plug in a flash drive, hit a few keys and then let the program run while I cleaned. I would grab them when I was done, hide them in my smock and go to the next job." She gave a little shrug. "It was easier than we thought it would be."

"But what was the plan?" Damon touched his injured arm. "Who was going to buy this information you were stealing?"

"Edgar put a listing on some deep web site. There were a few offers, and he accepted one. We were getting ready to package it and sell it. Edgar was going to Belize. Mason and I were planning to run away to some place like Thailand."

"Were you going to tell me before you left?" It was impossible to keep the hurt out of Elena's voice.

Katherine met her sister's gaze. Quietly, she said, "No."

"No? You were just…what? Going to leave and hope I didn't notice? You were going to leave me here to clean up your mess?"

"I was going to tell you when we were some place safe," Katherine insisted. "I wasn't worried about you. I knew that you would land on your feet like you always do." She glanced at Damon. "I knew that he would come running the second I was gone. He has been watching you for months. You were blind to it, but I wasn't. I knew that the moment I was out of the picture, you were finally going to get your chance at happily ever after."

While Elena was trying to process all of that, Enzo returned with the jewellery box. He handed it to Katherine who opened it and produced a handful of flash drives. "These are the originals. I kept them. All of them. It was the way Mason and Edgar decided to keep things fair. Edgar couldn't sell the information behind our backs, and we couldn't sell it behind his. I don't have the decryption key that Edgar kept, but I have everything else."

"Who was your buyer?" Damon asked.

"I don't know. It was anonymous."

"Maybe not so anonymous," Damon grumbled. Picking up the burner phone, he turned it on and waited for it to find service. He dialled a number and left a cryptic message with an answering service along with the number for the burner he held. Putting the phone down, he sighed. "And now we wait."

"For?"

"For me to make a deal with the devil." Damon held Elena's hand a little tighter. "It is going to be a long night. You should get your sister cleaned up. If she is hungry, feed her." He kissed her fingertips. "You need to take your medicine, too."

Elena had a feeling Damon wanted them out of the office so he could make other phone calls. There were things she didn't need or want to know. She did as he asked and took Katherine upstairs to shower. They didn't say a word, not even when Elena handed her some of her clothing. Katherine got dressed quickly and swirled her hair into a loose bun.

"Katherine?" Elena didn't want to tell her, but she needed to know what Eric had told her earlier.

"Yeah?"

"Katherine…it is about Mason."

"I already know." Katherine didn't look away from the mirror. Her voice was calm and detached. "I knew as soon as he didn't come back to the motel for me."

"I'm so sorry, Katherine."

Silent and serious, Katherine turned away from the mirror and walked towards Elena. She put both hands on Elena's shoulders and gazed down at her. "Elena, I never meant for any of this to happen. I need you to know that."

"I do know that."

"I love you, and I'm sorry that I screwed everything up for us."

"I love you, and we are going to be okay. You made some mistakes. You have paid for them. You don't have to keep apologizing to me." Katherine had lost everything trying to run this scheme—her man, her freedom and nearly her life. There was no reason for Elena to try to punish her further. She would be doing that to herself for the rest of her life.

After grabbing a hoodie for Katherine and a jacket for herself, Elena took her downstairs and let her sister make a sandwich. Feeling fatigued, she fixed a cup of coffee and took the medicine Enzo had picked up for her. She was halfway through her coffee when Damon walked into the kitchen with the clean shirt draped over his good arm.

"We need to go," he announced. "Zec can't keep his plane waiting very long."

Leaving her cup of coffee on the table, Elena crossed the kitchen and helped him out of his ruined shirt and into the clean one. He handled the buttons himself because the fingers on her right hand were still too painful to move. She didn't like it when Enzo produced a shoulder holster for Damon to wear, but she accepted that it was a necessity.

She picked up Damon's suit jacket from the back of the chair where she had left it earlier and helped him slide his arms through it. Behind her, Katherine finished her quick meal and put on the hoodie Elena had given her. Enzo handed Elena the jacket she had brought down for herself.

Ten minutes later, they were driving to a private airport Elena hadn't even known existed. She sat in the middle row of the SUV next to Katherine and held her hand as they made a drive that was going to forever change their lives. Damon remained tight-lipped so she had no idea what was going to happen to Katherine once they reached the airport. Who was taking her? Would they treat her well? Was she going somewhere even more dangerous?

When they arrived at the airport, Damon's burner phone rang. He gave Enzo directions and the SUV pulled into an open hangar. Wes followed close behind in his car. The doors closed behind their vehicles. Elena could see two men standing near a private jet. One of them she recognized as Logan. The other was a stranger to her.

Damon turned in his seat. "Elena, stay here. I will come get you when it is time to say goodbye. You," he pointed at Katherine, "get out of the car and come with me."

Katherine nodded and gave Elena's hand a squeeze. Elena's heart hammered in her chest as she watched her sister climb out of the SUV and follow Damon. Enzo trailed them with a duffel bag stuffed with cash and the jewellery.

Face taut with fear, Katherine glanced back at the SUV. In that moment, their entire life together flashed before Elena's eyes. For better or worse and despite all her mistakes, Katherine was her sister, and Elena loved her. Tears burned her eyes as she began to accept that she might never see her sister again.

To save her life and Elena's, Katherine had to make a choice. She could disappear—or die.


	25. Chapter 25

"Keep your mouth shut," Damon warned as he came around the SUV to escort Katherine. His arm throbbed incessantly, and it left him feeling irritated and short-tempered. "Don't say a word unless you are specifically asked something."

Katherine's face contorted with distaste. "Are you always this controlling and rude with my sister?"

He scowled at the woman who would one day be his sister-in-law. "I love Elena, and I will do anything for her—but you have pushed me right to the edge tonight, Katherine. You need to remember that I'm the only thing standing between you and a bullet."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I really didn't mean to shoot you. I was mad and my hands are shaky. I haven't been eating, and I was using a little bump here and there to stay awake. It was an accident. I mean it."

Damon didn't doubt that it had been an accident, but he wasn't about to cut her any slack. "You could have killed me or Elena tonight. We are family, Katherine, but that doesn't mean I have to like you."

"Since when are we family? And that goes both ways. I don't have to like you either."

"I'm going to marry your sister. That makes you my family."

"Does she know that?"

Damon glanced at the SUV where Elena waited. "She will soon."

"You better treat her right, Damon."

"Does she look unhappy to you? She is living in a beautiful home. She has her pick of a fleet of luxury vehicles. She doesn't have to worry about money anymore and can focus on her handbags."

"That is not what I meant," Katherine argued. "I mean that you better love her right. She is soft inside and good. She needs someone who appreciates that. She needs a man who will make her feel special. She needs a man who can be her rock."

"I do love her. She means more to me than you can ever imagine or understand." Damon couldn't believe he was talking about his relationship with Elena with her sister. This night was getting crazier and weirder by the minute. "I will make sure that Elena never wants for anything."

"All she has ever wanted is to be part of a family."

"I will build a family with her," he promised.

"Are we going to make this deal or what?" Zec called out. "Some of us have schedules we are trying to keep."

"Remember what I said," Damon warned. "These men are a different breed, especially Zec. He is the most dangerous man you will ever meet."

Katherine nodded to assure him she understood. He led her across the hangar to where the two men waited. Logan she was probably familiar with because of Mason's involvement in the underworld, but he noticed the way she stiffened at the sight of Zec. He didn't blame her for that reaction. Even after all these years of doing business with the smuggler, Damon still felt uneasy around him.

Wealthy and powerful, Zec had built a legitimate import and export business based out of the Balkans. He used it to hide his illicit activities. There were few things he wouldn't smuggle from country to another. As far as Damon knew, Zec drew his only line at human trafficking. Everything else was fair game.

Intensely private and secretive, he was a difficult man to pin down, and other than Logan, Damon didn't know if he had any true friends. The scar across his throat from the razor that had slashed him open served as a reminder that this was a man who had cheated death and feared nothing. In the past, he had done some huge deals with Zec. He liked to think they had a good working relationship, but he never took it for granted. Zec was the kind of man who would think nothing of cutting his throat over a perceived slight.

"Let's see it," Zec rasped in that destroyed voice of his.

Katherine held out the small jewellery box filled with flash drives. Nervously, she admitted, "I don't have the decryption key. Edgar was the only one who had it, and he is dead."

"That is what happens to people who try to double cross me." Zec showed little emotion as he admitted to having ordered the hacker's death.

"You were the buyer all along." Damon had suspected as much, especially after Logan was so helpful. Pinning Logan in place with a look, he said, "And that is why you were so happy to run interference for Elena."

Logan smiled and shrugged carelessly. "It is easier to ask Giuseppe for forgiveness than permission. He will be angry tomorrow when he realizes that we caused this mess. He might even thank me for helping solve the Kai Parker's problem without any of us having to lift a finger. He will get over it when he gets his cut."

"Speaking of money," Damon said, "I want to talk to you about Zel's debt."

"There is nothing to talk about," Logan replied. "He fights on Saturday night. If he wins, the debt is settled. If he loses, he still owes me."

"Send me that bill."

"You are the second person to ask me that today."

Damon assumed Stefan was the other one. "Zel has had enough, Logan."

"As touching as your concern is," Zec interrupted, "I don't have time to stand here and listen to you two negotiate an old debt. I'm here to finish my deal."

He stared at Katherine, and she shrank back as if struck. "I'm not paying you a single penny for those. You and your boyfriend and that scam artist hacker tried to mess me up with this deal. First, you agreed to sell this information exclusively to me. Second, you tried to sell another copy to Kai. Third, you found out that you had something Marko wanted and gave him the chance to buy the information back."

Damon struggled with the shock that tore at him as Zec described Katherine's brazen double and triple dealing. Was she stupid or just that greedy?

Zec's lip curled as he slashed his hand through the air. "This should have been a clean transaction. No blood. No deaths. You three set the city on fire with your greed and your lies, and you have forced my man here," he gestured to Logan, "and this man," he gestured to Damon, "and all the other bosses to put out the flames. So you don't get shit."

"That is not fair!" Katherine snapped. "I worked hard to get these!"

"Fair?" Zec laughed right in her face. "Do you know what fair is where we come from? Fair is killing you and your sister and your sister's friend and Damon for your betrayal. So—I will give you a choice. I can treat you fairly." He pulled aside his jacket to reveal two holstered weapons. "Or I can teach you a hard lesson about liars and thieves."

Katherine gulped and licked her lips. "I will take the hard lesson."

"Good choice." Zec let his jacket fall closed. Glancing at Damon, he said, "You know the terms."

Relieved that Katherine hadn't stupidly called his bluff, Damon nodded. "It is all in the bag."

"It will be three to five days before she will contact you. You know the rules about phone and internet use." Zec paused. "Do you have any location requests?"

"It needs to be some place that Elena can visit easily." He remembered what Katherine had said in his office about running away with Mason to Thailand. That dream had died with her lover, but that didn't mean he couldn't still give her some part of it. "Some place warm," he added. "With beaches and low living costs."

Katherine glanced at him in surprise. He wasn't an ogre. Yes, she had shot him and put Elena in danger again and again, but he wasn't going to punish her for the rest of her life by asking Zec to drop her in some shithole.

"Beaches and low cost of living?" Zec repeated. "I can make that happen."

Damon signalled Enzo to hand over the duffel bag. "Get Elena."

After giving one of Zec's men the bag, Enzo lumbered away, and Damon turned to Katherine. He reached into his jacket and produced four thick envelopes of cash. "These are for you. It is all you are going to get for a while so make it count."

Seemingly surprised by his generosity, Katherine accepted the money from him. "Thank you, Damon. For everything," she added sincerely. "I know you didn't have to help me, but you did and I'm grateful for that."

"Be careful, Katherine. Be smart. This has to be the last time you get in trouble like this. I won't allow Elena to be put in danger again."

"I understand," she promised. Then, sheepishly, she added, "I'm really sorry about your arm."

Logan frowned. "What happened to your arm?"

Unhappily, he grumbled, "She shot me."

Logan's eyes widened fractionally. "When? Tonight?"

"Yes." Damon motioned towards his injured arm.

Logan chuckled darkly. "Hell, you really know to pick sisters, huh?"

Damon grunted in agreement, all the while thinking of Stefan's advice about the dangers of dating sisters. He would have to remember to buy Stefan a beer the next time they were out and ask him for advice. He hoped that Katherine would learn from this experience and go straight, but he was a realistic man. He had to prepare for either outcome.

Elena approached their small group. When Logan spotted her bandaged hand, he asked, "Did your sister shoot you, too?"

Elena frowned at him. "No, I burned myself."

Logan glanced at Damon. "All this time and all those women and you still haven't found one who can cook?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I burned myself on a pyrography pen. I'm fully capable of cooking a meal without setting a kitchen on fire."

"You will have to prove that by cooking dinner for me," Logan teased.

"Fat chance," Elena shot back rudely.

Damon watched Logan to see how he would respond to Elena. The loan shark surprised him by offering an olive branch.

"And would my chances improve if I arranged a sit-down with your friend and made things right for her?"

Elena hesitated. "I'm not sure that is possible. She is carrying around a lot of hurt and anger over the way that all went down. It isn't just taking her horse and humiliating her father that she holds against you. Her mum died in that awful homeless shelter. Bonnie couldn't even scrape together the money for her mother to have a proper burial. They forced her to cremate her mom and put her in that terrible pauper's field. She doesn't even have a real grave or a place to mourn her mother."

Logan's face darkened. "That wasn't my entire fault."

"I know that. Deep down inside, I'm sure Bonnie knows it. You are just an easier target to hate than the banks and the SEC and everyone else who ruined her life."

Looking at Logan, Damon wondered if this was the first time he had ever considered what really happened to the families connected to the debts he collected. Or maybe it was the first time someone had ever laid it out so plainly to him. Judging by the change in his demeanour, Logan was troubled by the facts that had been presented to him. Damon was left to wonder what his friend would do about it.

Standing back, he gave Elena and her sister some space as they hugged and cried. He hated to see Elena so upset, but there was no other way to help her sister. Hector wouldn't be able to keep the local boys from going after Katherine now that the body in the morgue had been identified as Kai's. Marko would want revenge once Zec used that information he had just obtained to blackmail him.

With his trademark coldness, Zec rasped, "It is time to go."

Elena and Katherine reluctantly separated. They whispered and smiled one last time before Katherine turned her back and headed straight for the stairs leading up into the jet.

Zec eyed Elena with some interest. "So you are the girl who stood up to Kai and then killed him, huh?"

Elena didn't correct him, and Damon was glad for it. Sometimes it was better to be the star of an underworld legend.

Nodding with approval, Zec addressed Damon, "This one will do, Damon."

Confused, Elena looked to him for an explanation but he simply shook his head. Later, if she asked again, he would tell her. Taking her hand, he tugged gently and coaxed her to follow him back to the SUV.

Logan fell into step beside him. "Are you headed home?"

Home sounded so good right now. He wanted to drop into bed with Elena and sleep for the next twenty-four hours—but it had finally occurred to him that he and Elena needed to have a real discussion about their future. Tonight had changed everything. "I need to make a stop first. Why?"

"I can send my doctor to visit you. He can get you patched up if you need it."

"I do." Damon could feel the bandage on his arm growing wet. "Send him in an hour?"

"Sure." Logan broke away toward his own idling car.

Damon wiped the tears off Elena's cheeks and kissed her before helping her into the SUV. The heartache of sending her sister away wouldn't leave her anytime soon. She needed time to grieve, and he needed to remember that. He had promised Katherine that he would be good to Elena. He was determined to keep that vow.

"Where are we going?" Enzo asked after sliding behind the wheel.

Damon rattled off the address as he buckled his seatbelt. Elena kept her gaze glued to her window as they backed out of the hangar and then twisted to look out the rear window. She seemed unable to tear her gaze away from the plane that would carry her sister away.

"She will be fine, Elena." He didn't want her worrying unnecessarily.

"Are you sure?" She bit her lower lip with concern. "That guy with the scar on his throat looked really dangerous."

"He is dangerous," Damon confirmed. "But he won't hurt your sister. We made a deal. He is duty bound to honour it. In a few days, Katherine will call you and you will see that everything is fine."

"I hope so," she answered softly.

x x x

The drive across the sleepy city was quiet and uneventful. They rode in silence, each of them mired in their own thoughts. Damon suspected Enzo was thinking of all the ways he could get out of bodyguard duty as quickly as possible. In the last week, Enzo had been through a baptism by fire. He had gained a better understanding of the city's underbelly and the players and the loyalties and grudges that would always complicate things.

Damon smiled ruefully as it finally dawned on him that his father and the mafia family had planned this from the beginning. He now suspected Giuseppe had known all along that Logan and Zec were scheming to pull off that massive identity theft. Assigning Enzo to Elena had been the family's way of ensuring there was an inside man to report back with information and that Enzo got a much-needed introduction to the city. Before the mafia family could turn Enzo loose on the streets, the family had to test him and be sure that he was trustworthy and loyal. If this week with Elena hadn't proved that, nothing would.

Giuseppe truly was a master when it came to the game of surviving in the underworld…much better than Damon.

"Pull in there," Damon instructed when they reached the half-completed retail centre. Enzo stopped in the parking space Damon had indicated. He glanced at the hulking enforcer. "Wait here. We won't be long."

Damon grabbed the envelope holding the legal paperwork before getting out of the SUV and walking around to Elena's door. She eyed him with confusion as he took her hand and led her to the dark and unfinished building. He hadn't been to the building in a few weeks, but the lockbox combination on the sealed door was the same. He punched in the code, retrieved the keys and opened the door.

"What are we doing here?" Elena followed close behind him and latched onto the back of his jacket so she wouldn't get lost in the dark.

"We are going to talk about our future." He found a light switch. Only one side of the room was illuminated but it was enough for them to see each other.

"Our future? Here?" She glanced around the unfinished building. "In this abandoned place?"

"It doesn't look like much right now, but it will. Give me some time."

"And what will it look like when you are done?"

"Read this." He handed her the envelope. "You will understand."

Gawking at him as if he were crazy, Elena took the envelope. "You realize it is almost two in the morning, right?"

"Humour me, sweetheart."

"All right." Elena opened the envelope and removed the papers inside. She scanned the first document, and her eyes widened. She glanced up at him as if unsure that she actually understood them and then started reading each one. "Damon, what is this?"

"The paperwork for incorporating your business is straight-forward, but you will need an attorney to review them and make recommendations. I have the names of a handful that I trust."

Elena flashed a page at him. "And this?"

"My father and I have decided to turn this into a high-end shopping destination. Sarah will have a gallery of her very own down on the other end. Kazimir and Zoya will move their jewellery store into the larger centre space. And this space," Damon gestured around them, "will be your handbag shop. Maybe you can let Bonnie share the space with you."

"My own shop?" Elena asked in shock.

"I spoke to Rose Slater a few days ago. She knows people in the fashion production industry here. I'm going to get some quotes from her so we can figure out a way to increase your production while still keeping your designs handmade and unique."

"Employees? Me? A boss?"

"You will be good at it," Damon assured her. "You have what it takes to build something truly special here, Elena." Pointing to the real estate paperwork, he said, "After you sign those, you will own this building. Forever," he added. "It is yours."

"Mine? Forever?" Elena repeated in disbelief.

"Whatever you decide about me, this place will be yours irrevocably."

She narrowed her eyes. "Whatever I decide about you? What does that mean?"

"It means that we can't go on as we are, Elena." Even before Katherine had shot him, even before the misunderstanding with Marissa, Damon had come to accept that as fact.

Visibly crushed, Elena asked, "Are you breaking up with me? Is this your parting gift? Is this supposed to make up for not having you? Because if that is the case, I don't want it. I only want you. Just you. Always."

"Elena," Damon said with a tired laugh, "of course not. You and I are so tangled up in each other we can never be separated. The only way I'm walking away from you is if you walk out the door first and leave me behind."

"That is impossible," Elena said simply. "I don't ever want to let you go."

"Good." His heart thudded powerfully in his chest. "Because I love you, Elena."

Elena burst into tears. Taken aback, Damon wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or sadness. Crossing the distance between them, he embraced her with his uninjured arm and kissed her cheek. "Don't cry. Elena, talk to me."

She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Rising on tiptoes, she deepened their kiss to one of such passion that it left him throbbing and lightheaded. "I love you, Damon," she whispered as she gazed adoringly up at him. "I love you so much."

"Then there is only one thing for us to do," he said firmly.

"And what is that?"

"Tomorrow, we both fly to Vegas to celebrate my birthday. We will bring Enzo and Bonnie with us."

"And then?" Elena asked breathlessly, her eyes alight with hope and excitement.

"And then we get married," Damon said matter-of-factly. "We make it official. You and me. We get married." He kissed her until she started laughing. Pulling back, he smiled at her and brushed his fingers down her cheek. "What?"

"Is this really a proposal?"

"Do you want me to kneel? I will." He started to slide down to one knee but she stopped him.

"Don't be silly!"

With a mischievous grin, Damon reminded her, "You enjoyed yourself the last time I was kneeling in front of you."

"Damon!" A blush darkened her cheeks and ears.

Laughing, he kissed her again. More serious, he traced her lower lip and asked properly, "Will you marry me, Elena?"

Her lip trembled beneath his thumb. "Yes, Damon. I will marry you."

This time their kiss seemed never-ending. Neither wanted it to end as they celebrated their decision to spend their lives together and to build a family.

"Are we really going to do this?" Elena asked as Damon combed his fingers though her beautiful hair. "Just run away to Vegas and get married?"

"It is the most obvious thing, isn't it? You love me. I love you. It is what people do when they love each other the way we do. I didn't know it was possible to love like this until you, Elena." He took her hand and put it over his heart. "I didn't know it was possible to feel like this."

"Neither did I," Elena admitted. Lightening the mood, she pointed out, "We won't have much of a honeymoon. You are probably going to end up with stitches tonight, and I have a gauze paw complicating things."

"Elena, you underestimate me." Damon let his hand ride the curve of her back right down to her plump bottom. "I can think of twenty different ways to have you that won't hurt either of us."

Elena arched her brow. "Only twenty?"

"Careful," he warned. "Twenty-one includes leather cuffs and silk rope."

"And twenty-two?" Elena asked with a playful smile.

Damon laughed and kissed her again. He loved her so much. After everything they had survived in the last week, there was nothing they couldn't face now. Hand in hand, side by side, they would create a new life together, one filled with love and passion and happiness

And nothing in this whole wide world would stop.


	26. Epilogue

_One year later…_

"They are going to call him Joseph Nicholas Salvatore!" The halls of the maternity ward of Mystic Falls Hospital rang with Giuseppe's announcement. If there was anyone left in the waiting room who did not yet know that Giuseppe Salvatore had arrived, he was now aware of it.

Inside her room, Elena held the tiny bundle to her breast and smiled. She knew her father-in-law had been pacing the waiting room floor since she had gone into labour last night. When Damon had finally gone out to tell him that he had a grandson, Giuseppe's roar of approval had shaken the building.

Elena raised her head and looked up at her husband. Damon was watching his son nurse. There was deep pride in those blue-grey eyes. There was also a fascination in them as Damon studied little Joseph

"Look at those tiny little hands," Damon marvelled.

"I think he's going to have your eyes," said Elena.

Damon grinned. "You think so? The nurse said it was too soon to tell."

"Trust me," Elena said with smug certainty. "I would know those eyes anywhere."

Damon's grin widened. He had been grinning a lot for the past couple of hours. He had not been grinning last night, however, when, in the middle of having dinner with Giuseppe, Stefan and Lexi at their home, Elena had announced that her time had come.

Damon had taken over instantly. He had ordered Stefan to get the SUV. At the hospital, he had issued a steady stream of instructions to Elena and her nurses, consulted with Elena's doctor, and generally assumed command of a situation that was entirely outside his field of expertise. That had not stopped him for a moment. Damon had prepared well for the big event.

He had studied every book on pregnancy and childbirth he had been able to find during the past few months. He had supervised Elena's vitamin supplements and exercises. He had gone shopping for diapers and baby supplies.

Damon had considered himself an expert on childbirth right up to the moment when Elena had gone into the delivery room and started swearing. She had gritted her teeth and shouted words Damon had never heard her use before. At that point, he had realized he was a little out of his depth. Damon had compensated by giving more orders and holding Elena's hand so tightly that he was afraid he might crack a few of the delicate bones.

But she had clung to him even more tightly. Her nails had left marks in his palm.

Somehow they had all come through the ordeal with flying colours. Joseph Nicholson Salvatore had arrived with an ear-splitting squall, prompting Damon to remark proudly that his son obviously had inherited his verbal skills.

"Is Dad still causing a scene out there in the waiting room?" Elena inquired.

"You could say that. He bought a case of champagne for the hospital staff." Damon leaned over to get a closer look at his son. "Are you sure you feel all right, honey?"

"I'm fine. A little tired, but that's all."

"I can't believe it. We have actually made ourselves a kid. A real live baby."

Elena smiled, amused by Damon's wonder. "Yes," she said, a little amazed herself. "We did."

The past few months had been good, she thought with satisfaction. The time she and Damon had had together before the baby arrived had assured them both that the bonds between them were strong enough to last a lifetime. She would never doubt Damon's love for her, Elena had decided. This time she could be sure that the emotional foundation was for real.

"I have texted Katherine," Damon said. "She said she would call you later."

"I have sent the pictures of the baby to her," Elena said. "I'm glad she is doing fine."

Katherine had made a new start and Elena couldn't be happier for her sister. Although what her sister did nearly cost her life, Elena still loved her.

The hospital room door burst open just as Damon leaned down to place his son back in the cradle.

Giuseppe stood on the threshold, loaded down with flowers and packages.

"Behold, I come bearing gifts. How is little Joseph?"

"Sleepy," Damon said. "Keep your voice down, Dad."

"Sorry, I'm too excited," Giuseppe lowered his voice as he placed wrapped packages on the bed. "There are plenty of baby presents. The kid is really raking it in. A package from Enzo, one from Wes, and one from Bonnie."

Elena pulled off ribbons and tore paper with enthusiasm. Wes' gift was an adorable little yellow playsuit. She held it up with delight. "Isn't it cute? It is perfect for him."

"Looks a few sizes too big, if you ask me," Damon said, examining the outfit with a critical eye.

"Don't worry," Giuseppe advised. "Babies grow. Fast."

"Let's see what Bonnie sent," Elena said. She shredded more paper, lifted off the top of a white box, and revealed a beautiful chunk of amethyst crystal. "It is lovely," she said, turning the glittering crystal in her hands.

"What the hell is the kid going to do with that?" Giuseppe demanded.

"It is not for Joseph," Elena announced, belatedly reading the small card. "It is for me. To help me get my strength back quickly."

"How the heck is a hunk of crystal going to do that?" Giuseppe growled.

"Who knows?" Elena gave her husband grin. "Look at it this way—it can't do any harm."

"Let's see what Enzo had sent," Giuseppe said encouragingly.

Elena obediently tore the paper off the last package. When she raised the lid on the box she couldn't stop herself from bursting out in laughter. Inside lay a tiger club plush soft toy. "Enzo certainly had overheard Bonnie and my conversation the other day."

Damon frowned as he glanced at the soft toy. "Did I miss something?"

"Bonnie thinks you are like a Russian tiger," Elena remarked.

Giuseppe chuckled and came around the side of the bed to get a closer look. "Well, my son is definitely powerful like a tiger."

Elena laughed harder. He smiled at her. His eyes were gleaming. He held the soft toy in his hand.

"Yes," she whispered. "Powerful like a Russian tiger."

"Strong as ever," he said with laughing satisfaction. "I'm happy it makes you happy."

"Hey, you two okay?" Giuseppe demanded. "You have both got funny expressions on your faces."

"Everything is just fine," Damon said as he leaned down to kiss his wife. "Isn't it, my love?"

"Perfect," Elena agreed with a smile. She couldn't ask for more. If angels really existed in this world, then she had met hers, because Damon was the protector of her heart, her soul, her life and she would give it all to him freely, unquestionably and never ending.

 _THE END_


End file.
